Evangelion: (Never) Alone
by Rollinaround
Summary: Post 3.0: With Shinji Ikari's psyche shattered after bringing about Fourth Impact, the Third Child has given up on life, until he stumbles upon a place he might come to call home. When his new home comes under threat, Shinji must protect it with his life, and the help of a most unlikely ally. NOW HAS A SEQUEL: www.fanfiction.net/s/13365811/1/Never-Alone-Part-2-Gemini-Rising
1. Episode 1: First Contact

Hello everyone! This story is the first part of a two-part saga. Once you've finished this 21 Chapter installment, you can find the next tale in the saga right here on FF, under the title (Never) Alone Part 2: Gemini Rising.

-Rollinaround

 **Evangelion:**

 **(Never) Alone**

Episode 1

First Contact

The evening sun shone through the carriage window as the train made it's way down the railroad to nowhere. The wheels screeched against the old, rusted tracks and the inside of the carriage was dyed a deep red, just like the world outside. Shinji Ikari had been here before, the last time on the night of the Unit 03 incident. But this time, something was different. The Third Child felt himself moving forward, as if walking, yet he sat perfectly still and in the distance, he could swear he heard the faint sound of someone yelling. Lastly, Rei Ayanami was nowhere to be seen. Instead, just across from him, sat The Fifth Child, Kaworu Nagisa.

"Why do you cling to that thing so desperately?" He said, looking down at the SDAT player in Shinji's hand, his voice devoid of all the warmth and emotion it had when he was alive. His face was obscured by the shadows, save for his deep, crimson eyes that seemed to stare right through the boy who had sealed his fate. Shinji sat there in the fetal position, not even bothering to look up at his late friend.

Another, younger Shinji stood nearby, gazing back at the silver haired teen. "It's all I have left..." He whispered as his older self buried his face in his knees. His headphones were on and the tape in the cassette wound back and forth but the music had stopped playing long ago. "It's all that's left of my past. Everything else is gone. Or it's changed so much I can't recognize it." "But those times are gone forever now." Kaworu replied coldly. "Nothing can bring them back, You should know that." The teenaged Shinji held the cassette player firmly in his hand, as if it could somehow protect him from the brutal reality of this terrifying new world.

"But instead," Kaworu continued, "You denied the truth. You refused to listen to your friends or even to me." Shinji's body tensed as his former friend spoke, his voice harsh and accusing. "I... I just wanted to make things right again-" The boy whispered back but Kaworu cut him off. "No. All you wanted was your happiness back." Tears trickled down Shinji's cheeks as his body shook with anger. "You thought only of yourself and cared nothing for the consequences of your actions."

"So what if I did!?" Shinji screamed, his face red with fury. "Nobody else ever cared enough to think of me!" Seele's child remained unfazed. "You know that isn't true." He said. "There were plenty of people who cared about you. You had Misato Katsuragi, the woman who took you into her home. You had Rei Ayanami, who protected you with her own life. You had Touji and Kensuke, Asuka Shikinami, Sakura Suzuhara and myself. But when it mattered most you turned away from them, and it cost them their homes, their loved ones and even their lives."

"SHUT UP!" The SDAT player went right through Kaworu Nagisa and shattered against the wall. "Just leave me alone..." When Shinji looked up again, the train carriage was empty. "K- Kaworu?" There was no response. "Please... Come back..." The child cried softly, but the silver haired boy did not return. Just another friend he'd driven away. "Why?" He sobbed as his fingers dug into his leg. "Why do I throw away everyone who matters to me?"

" **Because you are weak.** "

Shinji gasped as he looked up one last time to see a tall, shadowy figure looking back at him. Every movement he made, the shadow mimicked perfectly. It didn't seem to want to hurt him, but there was something strange and alien about it, and it's presence made the rickety train feel eerily still and silent. "Who are you?" Shinji whispered as he backed away from the creature. It followed him. "What do you want from me!?"

He wouldn't get his answer as all of a sudden, the distant yelling drew closer. The voice slowly grew in volume until it was almost deafening and, at last, Shinji remembered where he had heard it before.

"-you're not going to fix anything by crying like a spoiled little brat. Now get up, take it like a man and do something useful with your life for once!"

And then, he woke up.

"Gott im Himmel, took you long enough." Asuka growled as the Third Child's eyes lit up. After over half a day traveling the wastes of a post Third Impact Japan, the ingrate had finally snapped out of it, if only for a moment. The boy yelped in surprise as Captain Shikinami let go of him, and he fell back onto the hot, red sand that now covered most of the Earth.

The Ayanami Type was with them as well, sat on the ground and gazing off into the distance, as if lost in thought. Looking around, Shinji could see that Asuka had pulled the two of them into a shallow cave at the bottom of a canyon. "You almost got yourself killed you know?" She said bitterly as she dug through her backpack. "If I hadn't dragged your sorry ass in here that Nemesis Series would have ripped you apart." Shinji said nothing. He just curled up and tried to block out the horrible reality he found himself in.

"You're welcome." Asuka grunted as she pulled her comm device out of the pack. No signal. "Alright." She sighed as she made her way out. "I'm gonna go see if I can get a signal for any nearby outposts." She looked back at her two "travelling companions". Neither out them seemed likely to run. The clone had gone with her of her own free will and Shinji was barely sentient anymore. "You two… stay here and make sure neither of you does something stupid." She got no response, as she expected. "Ugh, I didn't sign up for babysitting duty…"

With that, the other two were left alone, free to do as they wished, if they had anything to do. Rei Ayanami looked over at the boy she had retrieved from WILLE only a week ago. He was the first person to ever speak with her, other than to give orders. For the first few days, he'd shown a genuine interest in her, bringing her books, asking about her life; things the Commander had never bothered with. But now, he avoided her. He didn't even want to talk about her.

All because she wasn't "his Rei."

What did that even mean? Another Rei Ayanami… She'd never heard of another Commander Ikari, or another Kaworu Nagisa. Why was there more than one of her, why was Shinji so attached to her, and most importantly, what did that make **her**?

"What was she like?" She asked, causing the Third Child to raise his head. "What?" He said flatly. "The other Rei Ayanami. What was she like?" Shinji gave her no reply. What he did give her was a look. It was the kind of look she was not used to seeing; one she did not really understand. But for whatever reason, it made her feel… uncomfortable.

The boy looked away again. It was clear that he was not interested in talking to her. Had she offended him? Was she asking the wrong questions? Or maybe, she had just asked the wrong person.

Asuka stared at the foil package grimly as it sat atop the tiny gas stove, the dim flames being their only light, now that night had fallen. She never thought she'd miss military rations. Those at least tasted halfway decent when cooked. Nutrient paste was barely palatable, no matter what you did with it.

She'd had no luck with the comm device. The only signal she'd gotten was from an independent colony several miles away, and they weren't exactly the generous kind. Better to find an outpost loyal to WILLE. At least they wouldn't demand compensation for returning her to the Wunder.

The Captain peeled the tin foil cover away, sighing at the pale yellow slurry that lay inside. It was supposed to be curry flavoured but it had no spice to it, and it tasted about as similar to curry as curry did to ragu. It was all made from the same ingredients anyway, but they gave it individual flavours to improve morale, remind them of better times, before **he** messed everything up.

Sat across from her, curled up in the fetal position, was the boy who had brought the world to its knees. One of the first people to treat her as something other than a military asset, or an angry bitch to be avoided, the first person she'd ever really dared to think of as a friend, and perhaps something more, now just an empty shell, broken by the weight of his own foolish mistakes.

The clone wasn't much better, just the latest in a long line of Ayanami Types, another painful reminder of the past. She followed whatever orders she was given and that was about it. She scarcely said a word, and when she did it was usually just "I don't know" or "Is that an order?" Which is why it was so surprising to actually hear her speak up for once.

"Captain Shikinami, may I ask you a question?" The redhead shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do." The clone stared blankly. "That means yes." "I see…" The Ayanami type replied, as if Asuka had just shared some profound knowledge. "What can you tell me about the other Rei Ayanami?" Shinji's breathing quickened as his fingers dug into his leg. Asuka paid him no attention. The fate of the world didn't depend on whether or not some selfish kid's feelings weren't hurt.

"Not much to tell really." She said as she started on her food. "She looked the same as you, kept to herself, didn't talk much but, more than you do." She swallowed the paste as quickly as possible. No use savouring something like that. "I guess she was kinda lonely but we barely talked." The Ayanami Type nodded quietly. "So, why is there another one of me?" "Because you're a clone." The captain said simply. "A copy made to do Ikari's dirty work. We've fought dozens of you over the years. Even the first Rei was just a clone of some woman Ikari knew-" "Mother…"

Asuka almost jumped when she heard Shinji speak, for the first time since she'd pulled him out of Unit 13's entry plug. "What?" "She's a clone of my mother." The boy said, looking up for a brief moment before curling back up. "Don't know why he used her though…" Asuka blinked in disbelief. "How do you even know that?" "Fuyutski told me." Was the reply. 'Jesus…' The Second Child thought. She knew Gendo was a sick man but she never imagined he'd clone his dead wife just to use as cannon fodder.

"Where is the other Rei Ayanami?" The clone asked. "I… wish to meet her." "She's gone!" Shinij snapped before Asuka could answer her. "She was…" He choked back the tears. "She was eaten by an Angel got absorbed by Unit 1." The boy shivered as he was forced to relive the night of his greatest failure. "Now she's gone forever. All because…" Tears ran down his eye, and his throat felt tighter and dryer with every word he spoke. "All because I ran away!"

Asuka regarded him coldly. Even when he did take responsibility for his actions he still had to make it all about himself. Him, or the pale skinned doll he'd ravage the planet over. Still, at least he was taking **some** responsibility for once. "Let's just get to sleep." She said finally. "We'll need to get up early. We've got a long way to go before we make it back to civilization."

The clone obediently climbed into her sleeping bag as Asuka snuffed the flame out but Shinji stayed put, sniffling pathetically. For a moment, Asuka thought of tearing into him, for acting like a child, for thinking only of himself, for almost wiping out all of humanity, again. But she was too tired to yell, and it wasn't worth it to berate him for being a brat when he was doing a good enough job f that himself. Instead she just tucked herself in and left the Third Child alone with his guilt.

He'd just have to learn to suck it up and get used to the pain, if he was ever to have any hope of surviving in this world.

The world he had brought to its knees.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of my first ever story. Just a heads up but it will probably take a couple more chapters before we get into the real meat of the story, we'll have to see. If there's anything you think I could have done better, don't be afraid to let me know- Rollin Around

Edit: So after looking back at this chapter, it looks a lot shorter than it did in Word and feels a little rushed. I promise chapter 2 will be a little longer.


	2. Episode 2: Road to Nowhere

**Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

Episode 2

Road To Nowhere

A/N: Just a quick clarification before we begin Chapter 2: I expect that when a lot of you were reading Chapter 1 that this was going to be a direct fan sequel to You Can (Not) Redo and I didn't think to mention that this isn't exactly that kind of story. This is more of an interquel, toying around with an interesting idea I had after watching 3.33 again recently.

Now before you click away, I do plan to write a sequel to 3.0, which will pick up where this fic leaves off so if you'd rather just see me follow up on the events of that movie, and you have a lot of patience, I'll provide a recap at the start of the next story so you can catch up. If you're still interested in seeing where this is going, just know that things will start to go in a different direction after this chapter. It won't go completely off rails; I just want you to know what I'm getting into. Either way I hope you all enjoy what I have in store for you.

"Dammit…" Asuka grumbled as she stared at the map on her comm device. "We're three days from the nearest WILLE Outpost." She put the device away and looked through her backpack. Just enough rations for three more meals. There was another settlement only a day or two away, but she wasn't too keen on going to them for help. They weren't hostile to WILLE but they weren't exactly known for their generosity. "We'll have to ration our food carefully over the next few days."

The others barely reacted, not that she expected any less. It was hard to tell which was worse, the robot or the zombie. On the one hand, the Ayanami Type had tried to kill just the other day; but at least she could follow orders and wouldn't break down in the middle of nowhere. Shinji, on the other hand, practically had to be shoved out of the cave they'd slept in and looked at all times like he was about to fall over and drown in his own tears. The two weighed her down like a pair of concrete shoes; but they'd both seen and learned things she hadn't: information that could be useful to WILLE.

"Alright," She said as she slung the pack over her shoulders. "We've sat around long enough. Time to get moving." The Ayanami Type followed the Captain, just as before. Shinji, however, just sat on his ass, trying to block out the world he had ruined. "Christ's sake…" Asuka muttered as she strode over to the boy, glaring down at him with her one good eye. "Move." The Third Child did nothing. Asuka felt the blood rush to her knuckles as her fists clenched. "I said **move**." She growled as she pulled the boy up by his wrist. "We don't have time to waste on pity parties Bratty Shinji!"

The boy couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. "Just leave me." He whispered, his voice shaking. "I know you want to." Asuka gritted her teeth. He still had to make everything about himself and his pain, even if it put everyone else in danger. "Well I'm not going to." She spat back. "Because I have orders to bring you back aboard the Wunder alive; and I'll be damned if I let you run away from us again."

Shinji just turned away from her, as if she didn't exist. Asuka had just about had enough. "Look at me!" She snapped. No response. The Captain got a death grip on his head and wrenched it up until they were face to face. " **Look at me**!" She could almost hear his heartbeat quicken, as she looked the boy right in the eye. "Now listen to me, and listen real fucking close." Her voice was as cold as her gaze. "Nobody cares about what you want, or how you feel. All we want to do is survive, until we get back to the Wunder, so we can start work on cleaning up the mess you made!"

Shinji's breathing was panicked and erratic. She'd seen her get mad before, but never like this. Asuka looked long and hard into his eyes before, just for a moment, her expression softened. "Look," She said, loosening her grip a little. "I get it. I really get it. Right now you're lost, and frightened and you wish you could just curl up in a ball and die."

The boy nodded weakly. He was still reeling Asuka's little lecture but at the same time, he hadn't expected her to, at least try and understand him. "You know why I know that? Because we were all that way at some point. We've all wanted to just give up and let ourselves die out here." She let go off him and Shinji felt his legs buckle as he fell to the ground.

The Second Child stepped forward, standing over him, glaring down at him as if she were a teacher and he, a disobedient child. "We had to go through that, because of you." Shinji looked down at the ground in shame. "Look at me." He obeyed. "The world didn't stop to let us pity ourselves. The danger didn't magically go away because we were frightened or upset. We just had to suck it up and move on." The clone watched the two of them intently, as if studying them.

"Now it's your turn." Asuka said. "Whether you like it or not, what's happening to you is your own fault." Shinji felt his guilt well up inside him. He wanted to run, to hide, to disappear. But deep down he knew that if he ran, things were only going to get harder for him "I'm taking you back with me one way or the other. So, are you going to suck it up and walk on your own, or do I have to get you a leash?"

Asuka's cold, blue eye bore into him, judging his every action. The fool had caused her no end of trouble and she was running out of patience. She would give him one chance to convince him that she was right to pull him out of that entry plug, one single shot to prove he wasn't a lost cause. If he blew it now, she would just give up on him.

The Third Child still couldn't bring himself to carry on; but at the same time he knew Asuka well enough to know she wasn't going to budge on this. The choice had already been made for him, like always. He could either obey orders, or be forced to comply. Besides, he'd already given her enough grief over the past couple days, and he owed it to her to at least try and go on. Asuka watched as the boy pulled himself to his feet and resigned himself to keep going, for now.

"Better?" He grumbled.

"Better." Asuka said flatly as she turned away and led the other two Children on their way through the wasteland that had once been the home of millions.

* * *

The dull, red wastes of the post Impact world spread out into the distance like a sea of rust as the Children trekked through the ruins of countless shops and houses on the outskirts of what had once been Tokyo 3. What little resemblance it bared to the world of the past only served to make it more alien. In the distance they could see an endless field of hay rolls, preserved in core material like rolling waves of blood. In a way it was almost beautiful. But for Shinji, it was just another reminder of his greatest mistake.

In every familiar building he saw a memory of a better time: a time that would never come back. In every cracked window he saw the reflection of one of his old friends. Toji, Kensuke, Rei, Misato, Kaworu, all of them stared back at him, judging him for his foolish pride, for the actions that had ruined their lives.

It was all he could do to choke back the tears and bury his pain, deep down inside of him. It didn't help but he had a feeling Asuka would yell at him if he broke down again.

It was almost evening by the time they reached the main road. It was surprisingly empty. Most of the vehicles had been thrown from the road in the maelstrom of the Fourth Impact. The boys felt like he was walking on sandpaper as they followed the path towards the Lilin Outpost. They had been walking for hours and his legs felt like they were going to buckle but Asuka insisted they keep walking. "We're not stopping until night and I'm not sleeping out in the open. We can evade the Nemesis Series while we're awake, but if they find us while we're sleeping we're dead."

The boy shivered as the evening closed in, unable to go any further. To Asuka it looked as if he was crying. "Oh for- What is it now Bratty Shinji!?" The Third Child couldn't stop shaking. "C-c-cold." He said as he wrapped his arms around his chest, desperate to get warm. "S- so cold…" Ever since Second Impact the planets climate had changed dramatically, and the world had existed in a state of never-ending summer. But the Third Impact had thrown the world into utter chaos, and the weather could shift almost on a dime now.

Asuka sighed as she took off her backpack and stuck her hand in. Even she had to admit it was getting surprisingly cold, and she'd had fourteen years to get used to a more changeable climate. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him. "You should have a blanket in your pack. Put it on before you freeze to death. It's probably gonna get worse as the night goes on but you'll just have to deal with it." She turned to the clone as she pulled blanket around her red plugsuit. "That goes for you too alright? I'm not dragging a pair of icebergs back to WILLE."

Shinji felt the Ayami Type watching him as he wrapped his own blanket around himself. It was thin and did little to stop him from shivering, but it was enough to make the cold at least bearable. He looked away as Rei's copy drew closer, reluctant to even look at her. He felt something warm wrap around his hand and looked down to see her holding hands with him. "What are you doing?" He said, still refusing to look her in the eye. "I have heard," The clone explained, "That people can warm each other by exchanging body heat." He pulled away from her. "I'm fine." He said, the frustration clear in his voice. She looked down at her empty hand, disappointed. "But… thank you…"

Shinji felt Asukas hand on his back. "Get. Moving!" She grunted as she shoved them forward. "You two will have plenty of time to work out your issues when we find somewhere to camp."

Things only got worse as the sun went down and the night grew darker and colder. The flashlights had a pretty mediocre range to them and made them stand out like a sore thumb but they were blind without them. The blankets had absorbed some of their body heat by now but it was still freezing and their suits weren't made to protect them from extreme temperature. Their packs weren't super heavy but Shinji still felt the weight on his shoulders as they crawled onwards, towards an uncertain future. "It's like we're on some fucked up camping trip." Asuka mused, laughing bitterly. "I always wanted to go camping as a kid. Don't know what I thought I was missing."

Shinji could see the steam leaving his mouth as he spoke. "We- we should have stayed in one of those buildings b- back in the city." "I know that you idiot!" She spat back. "But it's too late to turn back now. If we do we'll die out here." Shinji shook his head as he rubbed desperately against his chest. "We're going to die anyway-" "NO WE'RE NOT!" The Captains cheeks were red with anger as she wheeled around on him. "I have a mission to complete! I've survived the fall of civilization, and I've won against impossible odds for the past fourteen years and I am not going to die out here for nothing!"

For the first time, perhaps in his entire life, Shinji caught a glimpse of fear in Asuka's eye. It can't have been the first time she'd been afraid, nobody could live through two Impacts and say they'd never felt fear, but it was the first time he'd seen it for himself and it chilled him to the bone. If Asuka lost it, they really were doomed. "Come on!" She snarled as she forced herself to go faster. Shinji followed close behind, his legs aching as he did his best not to stumble and fall. "Asuka wait!" "No!" She screamed. "We've waited long enough! I'm getting us to shelter if it's the last thing I- **Scheisse**!"

Without warning the pilot of Unit 02 ducked behind a van and covered her nose and mouth with her hand. Shinji looked stared out into the darkness as Asuka turned off her flashlight. Off in the distance he saw the silhouette of a human figure, illuminated by a beam of light that put their flashlights to shame. "What's the problem?" He asked as the Rei clone sat next to Asuka. "It looks like just an ordinary…" The humanoid turned slowly and a chill ran down Shinji's spine as he realized what had lit up the night. It wasn't a flashlight.

It was its eyes.

Asuka managed to pull him behind cover just before the creature got him in its sights. "What the he-" Asuka clamped her hand around his mouth. "Quiet," She hissed, "or we're dead!" The three of them sat there, frozen on the spot as the lights hovered over the ground, drawing closer and closer. With every step the monster took, Shinji felt his heart beat a little faster. He held his breath for longer than he even thought possible as he heard the sound of metal against metal and a lank, grey face peered over the vehicle.

Asuka held her finger to her lips as she pulled out her combat knife and slowly crept around the van. She had one shot at this and if she blew it, it was over for them. Her heart skipped a beat as the creature slowly craned its neck downwards. Now if she remembered right, its alarm device should've been just below the ribcage…

Shinji covered his ears as Asuka plunged the knife into its side with all her might, and the beast let out a garbled, electrical scream that cut right through him. Pitch-black fluid poured out as Asuka dragged the blade along its belly, spilling circuits and wires everywhere, but the creature was not done yet. The Second Child dropped her knife as it lunged towards her, reaching for her neck.

Asuka just barely managed to hold the freak back, clinging desperately to its thin, bony wrists. Shinji looked on in horror as the girl who saved his life wrestled with the mechanical horror. He knew he was all but useless in a fight and his pack contained no weapons but he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. "Get off of her!" He yelled, grabbing a rock and bashing it against the monsters head.

The beast turned its head a full 180 degrees to face the boy. Its eyes flickered in the darkness, blinding Shinji and leaving him completely helpless as it pounced on top of him and wrapped it's hands around his neck. He did his best to push back while Asuka tried to pull the creature off but it had a death grip on him and would not budge. And as Shinji lay there, gasping for air, he remembered the day of the Unit 03 incident, lying on the ground with the Angel strangling him to death, while he did nothing to help Asuka. 'A fitting death…' He thought as the light faded from his eyes.

Far off in the darkness he saw two lights, shining like diamonds. It wasn't like the lights from the monster's eyes but it was still eerily familiar. 'Is this it?' He thought as he felt himself being pulled towards the light. 'Is this death?' And then, he heard another voice, one that was, again, oddly familiar. ' **No**.' it said as the lights flew into his eyes, and the boy felt a burst of life.

Suddenly, he was back on the road, his hands wrapped around the monster's wrists and slowly pulling its hands from his neck; but the creature was nothing if not persistent, pushing back at him and slashing at his face. Its claws came a mere inch from his face before the boy let out a desperate, feral scream and squeezed hard, crushing its metal bones like two brittle pencils. Seizing the opportunity, Asuka grabbed hold of the beast and threw it off the side. It shrieked all the way down as it plummeted into darkness. "You are going to be the death of me…" She growled.

Shinji was still trying to process what had happened. Even for a fourteen year old his strength was average at best. And yet, despite being cold, starving and exhausted, he'd just broken through solid iron like it was nothing. And that near death experience he'd had just a moment ago, what was that? His mind was full of questions as he stood there, trying to make sense of the last couple minutes. "Asuka what- what was that thing?" She told him nothing, she just grabbed his hand and went back to drag him down the road. "No time." She whispered, "I'll explain later. Now come on, and keep your mouth shut; there might be more of them out here."

White flakes began to fall from the sky as Asuka pulled him down the road. He'd never seen it before but he recognised it from one of his textbooks. There was no time to stop and admire it though; the nigh was far from over and the snow was just a sign that things were about to get a lot colder. Finally his legs gave out, and he collapsed on the roadside. "I- I'm ok!" He lied as he did his best to pull himself back up and his light shone on what looked like a massive, rust colored leg.

He let out a terrified shriek as he fell back to the ground. "What? What is it!?" Asuka said as she looked up to see the giant red husk. "It's- it's just an Eva Unit…" The boy grumbled, blushing from the embarrassment. "That's no Eva." Asuka said grimly as she pulled him back to his feet. "That is one of the victims of Third Impact." Shinji couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You mean… that thing used to be a human?"

"I'm afraid so." Asuka whispered. "But, if there's one of them all the way out here then we should be able to find shelter " The three of them explored the cliffside, shining their lights every which way until finally the clone's light shone on a small house, without a scratch on it. "Well," Asuka said, half-grinning-half-wincing. "Seems our Lady Luck's finally on our side. Took her long enough…"

* * *

The three pilots huddled around the stove as a bowlful of water bubbled atop it. "Emergency rations." She said as she took out what looked like three small slabs of chalk and passed them around, before pouring a sachet of light green powder into the water. "They won't fill our bellies but they'll keep us from starving to death." She took a bite of the bland, tasteless biscuit and shuddered as she washed it down with a swig of hot water that tasted almost exactly nothing like tea. "We'll have some more nutrient paste in the morning." She passed the bowl to Shinji. "Try not to spill it."

Shinji had to force himself not to spit the stuff back out. He didn't know what it tasted like but it sure as hell didn't taste like green tea. The best description he could think of was that it tasted… green. "Never thought I'd miss Four Eyes" Asuka grumbled as she thought back to Mari's private stash of tea.

"Asuka?" Shinji muttered, a little less afraid to speak up now that she was… less pissed off. "What was that back there?" "Nemesis Series." She said through a mouthful of biscuit. "Type D: another one of NERV's little toys designed as scouts for the main Nemesis Series." That didn't mean much to Shinji, as he barely knew what the Nemesis series was. Luckily, the Captain seemed to pick up on that. "The Nemesis Series," she explained, "Are basically an unmanned Evangelion, stripped of any unnecessary features to save resources and programmed to follow a set stratestrategy in battle, the imend result is more like a man-made Angel than an Eva Unit. The Type D is different though; it's a humanoid robot with no Core or A.T Field. They leave them out in the wasteland to look for signs of life. If they find a human they'll send out a signal, attracting any Nemesis within a fifty mile radius and potentially leading them to any nearby civilization." Shinji trembled at the implications of that. "You can relax though, I destroyed its beacon so we should be safe here, at least for tonight." Shinji had a hard time believing that, but he kept it to himself.

The snow was coming down hard now, and by the morning the red wastes would be buried under a sheet of pure white. "All we need now is a tree." Asuka quipped as Rei passed the bowl back to her. "What is that?" The clone asked as she stared out the window at the snowflakes, falling to the earth like little pieces of cotton. Asuka snorted in disbelief. "What, you've never seen snow before?" "No, I have." The blue haired girl replied. "I just don't know what it is." The Second Child rolled her eyes. She and the boy didn't exactly make for compelling conversation but at least they distracted her subpar meal (if she could even call chalky biscuits and a shared bowl of fake tea a meal).

"It's rain." She said simply, "Frozen into little ice crystals. I don't know exactly how it works, meteorology was never my strong suit." The Ayanami type got up from her seat to take a closer look. "It's beautiful…" "Yeah, when you're not freezing your ass off." Asuka sniggered before she stuffed the last of her biscuit in her mouth, ground it to dust and forced it down her throat. She let Shinji have the last mouthful of "tea". Of the three of them, he had handled the cold worst of all and the less she had to listen to him whine about it the better.

"Right, lights out." Asuka said as she tucked herself into her sleeping bag and pulled her blanket over herself. "We've got an early start tomorrow and we'll need all the sleep we can get."

The clone fell drifted off without a fuss and Asuka followed shortly after. But Shinji would get no sleep that night. It was a miracle he'd gotten any sleep the night before. He was just too distracted by the cold. Across from him lay the Second Child, his former friend. With Rei and Kaworu gone and Misato miles away, Asuka Shikinami was all he had left to remember his past, before everything went to hell. She was the one thing that kept him going, even if it was by force. Desperate for some kind of affection, the boy reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, only for her to roll over in her sleep and turn her back to him.

Tears streamed from Shinji's eyes as the night wore on, seemingly forever. Unable to get any sleep, Shinji was left alone with his own imagination, an imagination that ran wild with images of pain, misery and death.

* * *

Asuka woke up at 6:30 AM the next morning with her bones aching from the cold. "God that was a rough night…" She mumbled as she shook herself awake. "Oh well, who wants rations?" She said with all the enthusiasm of a child on their way to school on Christmas Day. The Ayanami Type sat up slowly. She too had grown used to waking up at the crack of dawn. "Where is Shinji?" Asuka searched the building but he was nowhere to be found. "I swear to God, if he's run off again…"

She opened the front door and there he was, standing at the edge of the cliff, staring down at the river below. "You're up early…" She said cautiously. "I didn't sleep." His voice was frighteningly calm. Asuka had seen this many times before, and fear gripped her heart as she realized what was about to happen.

"Shinji…" Asuka said as she felt her heart race. "Don't even think about it…"

Next Episode: Goodbye Cruel World


	3. Episode 3: Goodbye Cruel World

**A/N** : Hey everybody, sorry this chapter's on the short side. I've been preparing for a vacation for the past four days and haven't had as much time to write as I would have liked. I basically had to rush to get this chapter out on time. Speaking of which, I'll be away for the next couple of weeks during which I'll obviously be away from my computer. I should hopefully be able to still add new chapters to the story but I may be slower to get them out and I can't promise anything.

Also Fun Fact: This chapter's title is a reference to the Pink Floyd song of the same name.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll try to give you something a little longer next time.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

 **By Rollinaround**

Episode 3

Goodbye Cruel World

Time seemed to have frozen in place as Shinji stared down at the bloody rapids, several feet below him. Even if he survived the impact, which was unlikely at this altitude, the river was lined with sharp rocks that would tear him apart. Once he went over, that was it; his life would be over.

Asuka Shikinami stepped out of the doorway, as slow as she could manage. She was walking on eggshells here: one wrong move and Shinji Ikari would be gone forever. "Shinji… Don't even think about it…"

He turned to face her. She called him Shinji. She'd never called him that before. She had called him Stupid Shinji, or Bratty Shinji but never just Shinji. "I'm sorry," He said as he felt the edge of the cliff a scant few millimetres behind him, "But I can't go on anymore. Everything I see just reminds me of what I did. I've tried to suck it up, but it doesn't help. It just makes the pain worse."

Asuka took a deep breath as she searched through her mind, desperate to find some way. The simplest solution would be to tell him that everything was alright, that **he** was alright and things would get better but she just couldn't. The truth was, he wasn't alright; he was an irresponsible, immature wreck and things were going to get worse long before they got better. It would do no good to lie to him and besides; even he wasn't stupid enough to believe it.

"So, you're just going to end it all, is that it?" She took special care to make sure she was firm with him without being cold or cruel. The irony of her trying not to upset Shinji was not lost on her. "That's not going to help anything." He shrugged. "There's nothing I can do to help anyway, there's nothing anyone can do."

"Don't be ridiculous. The human race wouldn't have lasted one year after Third Impact if we thought the way you did." She rolled her eyes at him. "I swear you give up on everything the second things get hard." Some things never changed. She knew the boy was capable of putting his life back together; he'd done so before. But back then he had the love and support of people like Rei, Misato, and his school friends. Now Rei was gone, along with his friends, and the soldiers aboard the Wunder were uncomfortable around him at best and, at worst, outright hated him.

Besides, what he needed now was discipline. Coddling him, treating him as if nothing had changed and feeding his ego would only lead to him making the same stupid mistakes. No matter how much it hurt him, he had to accept that everything he'd endured for the past week was his own fault, and things could never truly go back to the way they were.

Shinji turned to face the cliff once again. "Fine so it's not completely hopeless. Well it is for me." His voice was shaking as he spoke. Asuka wasn't sure if it was from the freezing cold or his deteriorating state of mind. "Nobody needs me, nobody wants me. I'm just a waste of life." "That's not true" Asuka replied. You could give us important information on Eva 13 at the very least. "You were at NERV for a whole week, you must have seen something."

"And then what?" He said as his eyes began to glisten. "After that I'm right back to being useless again. All I was ever good for was piloting the Eva. And besides if you want information, you have someone else" He looked over his shoulder, past Asuka Shikinami and into the house, where the Ayanami Type stood, watching them, and feeling very confused.

The boy took a deep breath as he looked around him. Overnight the dry red wastes had been buried under a blanket of crisp, pure white. The clone was right: it truly was beautiful. "I've never seen snow before." He said wistfully. "I'm glad I got a chance to, before I died." 'Dammit…' He thought as his foot inched towards the edge 'Are those really gonna be my last words?' A few small chunks of rock fell off the cliff face and into the rapids below. Asuka was starting to get desperate. The Third Child was mere moments from ending it all and nothing she tried was working. His guilt was just too strong. So she did the only thing she could.

She turned his guilt against him.

"No." She said coldly as she stepped forward. "I'm not going to let you die. What, you think you can tear the world apart, wipe out almost all of humanity and then just take the easy way out? Sorry kid but it doesn't work that way. You don't get to wash your hands of this."

Shinji's breathing grew faster and heavier. "What else can I do Asuka? If I'm left alive I'll just find some way to screw everything up again. If I die, I can't hurt anyone anymore." He looked back at Asuka, and her steely gaze bore into him. "This is all I can do to make up for my mistakes; I'm trying to take responsibility!" "No you're not!" She yelled back. "You're just running away, like you always do! You know what running away does? It gets your girlfriend eaten by an Angel, it leaves Misato alone while everything falls apart around her, it sent to you waltzing back to NERV and starting another Impact and it almost got me killed BY YOUR OWN DAMN EVA!"

Tears streamed down Shinji's face as he fell to his knees. Every word Asuka said was like a dagger in his heart but she couldn't stop now. 'The only way out is through' she told herself. That's the way it had been for her and the rest of humanity and that's the way it was for Shinji.

"What else can I do?" He whimpered. "I don't know." Asuka said, the snow crunching under her feet as she took another step closer. "But killing yourself isn't the answer. Like it or not, you owe it to the world to at least try to make amends, even if there **is** nothing you can do." The Second Child held out her hand like it was a lifeline. "You want to take responsibility? Then get back here and stop wasting everyone's time."

Shinji looked down at the raging crimson waters and sighed in defeat. She was right, he told himself. Even if there was nothing in his future but a lifetime behind bars, he still had to grit his teeth and face it. He owed it to Asuka, to Misato, and all those who had died because of him.

"Alright…" He said at last as he pulled himself back up and turned around to face Asuka. "Come on." She said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Let's go."

Shinji nodded grimly as he took a step towards her, only to feel the ground fall away below his feet. "Asuka…" His face was filled with terror as the girl leapt forward. She didn't make it. Asuka heard the boy scream all the way down. The last thing he saw was a brief flash of orange light before he hit the water.

* * *

Darkness. It was all Shinji Ikari could see as he stood there in the great abyss. An endless void spread out in every direction, leaving the Third Child in a world of pure nothingness. His voice echoed around him as he spoke. "Where am I? What's going on?" There was no answer. "Hello? Is there anybody out there? Anyone?" He could still see his body, clad in the same purple and black uniform for the past three days, but he felt completely numb.

"Is this it?" He thought aloud. "Is this… death?" He wanted to cry but no tears would come. Instead he just felt, empty inside.

It was then that Shinji caught sight of something; some miniscule speck off in the distance. It was so far away that normally he wouldn't even notice it, but in this world of infinite darkness it was like a shining beacon. He stepped closer. It felt like he was walking on air. The abyss went on for what seemed like hours but he could tell he was getting closer. Finally he got close enough that he could see what he was walking towards. His eyes lit up and he felt hope again as he recognised the beautiful young girl.

"Rei!"

Rei Ayanami smiled back at him, beckoning Shinji forward with open arms as a heavenly light surrounded her. A walk soon became a run as the boy saw his beloved draw closer and closer. He held out his arms, ready to embrace her, only to see a set of huge, bloody teeth open around Rei and close down on her. Blood spattered across Shinji's chest and ear-splitting scream echoed across infinity as the face of Eva 01 stared back at him, it's eyes glowing red as it disappeared back into the void.

Shinji feel to his knees, tears of blood streaking down his cheeks as, once again, he found himself completely alone. "Why? Why is this happening to me!?"

The Third Child opened his eyes again to see a women's hand hovering just out of his reach. He looked up to see Misato Katsuragi, smiling down at him, looking just the same way she had fourteen years ago. Above her, a beautiful blue sky stretched out as far as the eye could see. Lost, frightened and in desperate need of love, Shinji reached up and took her hand.

In an instant, the blue sky opened to reveal a never-ending black hole, the same he had seen during the Fourth Impact, and Misato's smiling visage was replaced by the cold, piercing glare of Colonel Katsuragi, Captain of the AAA Wunder. "Misato?"

She let go of his hand and Shinji back into the bottomless pit. It was just like when he fell from the cliff, only this time there was no wind on his back, no whistling in his ears, only nothingness. It was almost a mercy when he finally landed, in a shallow pool of LCL.

He wasn't alone. Standing over him, with that same warm smile he always had, was SEELE's Child. "Kaworu!" Shinji said as he wrapped his arms around the boy, crying tears of relief. "Kaworu, you have to get me out of here. I don't know what's happening but there's something horribly wrong about this!" Nagisa just smiled at him, and a dim red light illuminated his face as Shinji suddenly realized, to his despair, that his friend was wearing the DSS choker.

"No…" Shinji whispered as a number of thin red crystals circled around the choker. "No no no! Kaworu plea-" The crystals flew into the boy's neck, destroying his head. Blood poured out of his neck like a fountain and slowly rose up over Shinji's body until it threatened to drown him.

The boy did all he could to stay afloat but the blood was too thick. The viscous began to churn and bubble as it formed into twisted, human-like shapes, each with the face of one of the people he hurt. Touji, Kensuke; Lieutenant Suzuhara, Misato; Rei, Kaworu and countless others surrounded him, all chanting the same thing as they tried to pull him down. "Your fault! Your fault! Your fault! Your fault!"

The chanting grew louder and louder as the blood rose higher. Shinji fought as he could to get free, but the bloody form of Asuka Shikinami loomed over him and wrapped her fingers around his neck, holding him under the red sea as it started to boil. "You fault! **Your fault**! **YOUR FAULT**!"

And then, just like that, he was alone again. No bloody clones of his former friends, no heartless mocking, no burning feeling, just Shinji floating alone under an ocean of blood. He wanted to swim to the top again but found he didn't have the strength to move anymore. 'Is that it?' He thought. 'Is this my fate, just an eternity of this?'

As if to answer him the blood began to ripple as a shadowy figure walked atop the red ocean. Shinji recognised it instantly: it was the same figure he'd seen in his dream. It's eyes gleamed in the darkness as it plunged its hand into the sea and pulled the boy out. " **Wake up**." It said, and Shinji felt his heart stop as he finally saw its face.

The face of the 10th Angel.

* * *

Shinji's eyes shot open as he finally woke up. His body shivered gently as he looked down to find himself lying in a small bed, covered by at least three blankets. The rest was hard to see, as his vision was blurry from his near death experience, but in the background he could hear two people talking and the sound of something boiling.

"-but we don't know how long it'll last. Anyway, how's dinner coming along?" Said what sounded like the voice of a middle-aged man. "Just about done." Said the voice of a woman around the same age. "Maybe a minute or two more." "Good." The man said as Shinji's eyes adjusted, to the point he could see what looked like two human-shaped blurs cuddling together. "And how's our guest?"

"Still sleeping." The woman said as Shinji's vision finally became clear again and he could make out a tall, bearded man and a curvy, woman with short black hair, like her husband. Both of them looked a little thinner than normal. "He spent the last few minutes mumbling about something being his fault. Over than that the shivering's gone down, there's no sign of pneumonia and his temperature's slowly rising. As long as he's kept warm he should survive and make a full recovery."

The woman set took a steel pot off the stove and sat it on the table as a small girl ran into the room. "Is dinner ready Mama?" She said as she stood up on one of the chairs. "Yes dear." Her Mother said as she scooped up a portion of soup and poured it into a small, metal bowl. "Here, take this to our visitor."

The child nodded as she took the soup from her Mother and ran over to the spare bed. She had to stop herself from dropping the bowl in surprise as she reached the boy and found him lying there with his eyes open.

"Mama, Papa c'mere! He's awake!"

* * *

Next episode: **A New Home**


	4. Episode 4: A New Home

A/N: Well, this chapter took forever. Hopefully the wait will have paid off. I apologise if this chapter looks different to you guys. I can't use Word at the moment so I'm stuck typing it into the Doc Manager until I get home. Hope you guys enjoy this installment and with any luck the next chapter will be out a little sooner

\- Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

 **By Rollinaround**

Episode 4

A New Home

* * *

"What do we do now?" Rei asked as Captain Shikinami divided the contents of Shinji's pack between them with an almost robotic efficiency. They'd need the extra provisions in case of an emergency. "The same thing we did before." Asuka said. "We keep going until we reach an allied Lilin outpost and contact the AAA Wunder. "And after that?" Asuka rolled her eyes. She seemed to prefer it when Rei kept quiet. "Then I make my report to the Colonel and you most likely get pumped for information on NERV. After that," She shrugged, "I don't know."

Rei studied the girl carefully as she packed their bags. The Captain was trying to act as if everything was normal but something was clearly wrong with her. Her voice was flat and emotionless and she refused to look up from her work. "Captain Shikinami?" "What?" Asuka replied coldly. "Shinji, why did he want to-" The redhead cut her off. "Will you just shut up for a second!?" She snapped. "God, of all the times you decide to get chatty... Does it really matter why? It's done now, and there's nothing we can do about it." Her packing started to become hurried. "All that matters now is the mission. We just have to focus on staying alive until we're back aboard the ship."

Asuka felt her hand brush up against a pair of headphones as she stuffed a pack of rations into the clone's pack. That was odd; she didn't remember them being given headphones. She followed the wire until she grabbed hold of something small and plastic. Shinji's SDAT player. She looked the girl right in her blood red eyes. "Why do you even have this?" The Ayanami Type gave her the same blank look she always did. "It seemed importantly, so I took it with me."

Asuka shook her head in confusion. "I really don't get you. Why do you even care? Why the hell are you so obsessed with some dumb boy you barely knew, who didn't even like you!?" The girl just stared back at her. "I don't know." Asuka got up with a start. She'd had just about enough of this. "Of course you don't! What else did I expect!?" She tossed the clone one of the packs. "Come on! We've wasted enough time here."

The cold winds bit into them as the door slowly creaked open, held back by thick blankets of snow. Captain Shikinami gritted her teeth and rammed her shoulder into the door, forcing it open. She stopped for just a moment to set the SDAT player down at the spot where Shinji had fallen, before turning away and heading back to the road.

* * *

Shinji's hosts watched on in awe as the boy drank down his soup like it was nectar from the Gods. "Is it really that good?" The girl asked as he slurped up the last remaining dregs. It was not. The broth was bland and watery and not very filling. But he was cold and hungry, and just about anything was better than nutrient paste. "Yes. Thank you." He said, licking the leftovers off of his face and drawing a giggle from the wife.

"Sorry..." He mumbled as his cheeks turned red with embarrassment, "It's just, I didn't think you could get real food anymore." The husband smiled warmly. "It's alright kid. You must have been starving out there And besides you're not emtirely wrong. Food is extremely scarce these days. About the only way to get it is to join the military or grow your own. Otherwise you'll likely be eating nutrient paste all your life." Shinji doubted they were with the military. The walls were all made of scrap metal, a single lightbulb illuminated their two-room home and the residents clothes looked clean but also very cheap. "So, you grow your own food here? How is that even possible?" The woman smiled as she took back his bowl. "We'll show you later. For now, try to get some rest; you're still recovering and I don't feel safe letting you out until the weather clears. We didn't bring you back here just so you could freeze to death."

"That reminds me," Shinji said as he huddled under the blankets, "How did you people find me?" "It was quite simple really." The man explained. "The river you got caught in runs right past our home. Just happened to stumble on you on my way to work. Lucky we did too; if we hadn't found you you'd have never survived." Shinji had to agree: he should have died back there. Even without the freezing cold, he should've died the moment he hit the water. "I'm... sorry." The man chuckled at that. "No need to apologize son." He said, patting the boy a little too roughly on the back. "I mean we couldn't exactly leave you out there now could we? But enough about that, you're probably wondering who we are."

In truth, Shinji hadn't really given much thought to it. All that mattered at the time was they'd saved his life and they weren't screaming in his face about what a screw up he was. "My name," The man said, "Is Kaito Hamasaki. This here is my wife Himari." Himari grinned as she ruffled her daughter's hair. "And this little scamp is Aki, our pride and joy." "Mama, stop that!" The child moaned, swatting her mother's hand away. "It's annoying!"

"So," Kaito said, "What do we call you?" Shinji's eyes shot open, and his heart began to pound in his chest. If they found out who he was they'd cast him out in a second. "Is something wrong?" Himari asked, confused by his lack of answer. She checked his head for injuries. "You haven't forgotten have you?" "How can he forget his name?" Aki whispered to her mother. "Is he stupid?" "Don't be rude Aki!" Her parents hissed back. "No, it's ok." Shinji told them. "I'm just a little light headed." He searched his mind for a name, one that sounded right, one that wouldn't sound like something he made up on the spot. The first thing that came to his mind were his two school friends. But he couldn't use their surnames, that could get him recognized. He thought long and hard, trying to remember the names of all the people he'd met in his life until finally, he settled on thd name of his old P.E teacher. "Rokubungi." He said at last. "My name, is Kenji Rokubungi."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Kenji." Kaito said, shaking the boys hand very firmly. "So kid, how'd you end up in that river exactly? I mean you don't just trip by the riverbank and get carried God knows how far downstream." "I was... trying to kill myself." It had been hard enough to make up a name and besides, he didn't have to lie to them about everything. "But why would you wanna do that?" Aki asked him. He just shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing to live for. I mean it's all hopeless isn't it? Nothing's going to get better." Himari gave the boy a sympathetic smile. "Oh I wouldn't say so. There's always a chance that things will improve, as long as we have hope. Over time, this world will heal." The boy shook his head. "How can you even know that?" There was a glint in Kaito's eye as he spoke; like he held all the answers but wasn't ready to give them. "We'll show when you're feeling better. For now, just stay wrapped up and try to get some rest."

So Shinji just lay back, pulled the covers over his head and tried to get some sleep. His mind was still full of questions and he wondered how long this would last but, at least for now, he was safe.

* * *

The sound of metal screeching against metal rang in Shinji's ears, and the evening sun blinded him as he opened his eyes to find himself somewhere that become far too familiar for his liking. The floor of the traim shook beneath his feet, and outside the window he could see the ruins of Tokyo 3. But this time the boy was completely alone; no sign of Rei or Kaworu, or even his younger self. "Where is everyone?" He thought aloud. "Why am I here?"

Alone and afraid, he searched through each of the train carriages, one by one. He had to find someone, some reason he was there. He had to get out of this world as fast as possible. He went through one car, five cars, fifteen, forty, all of them completely identical. He was just beginning to wonder if he'd ever get out of this dream when suddenly the door opened, and he found himself in the back of the train. Moonlight shone through the windows, revealing small patches of rust on the walls and the floor shook harder than ever, as if the car was missing a wheel.

And there, sitting in the middle, was a tall shadowy figure, wearing the pale, skull-like mask of the 10th Angel. " **Welcome, Child of Lilith."** It said, not even turning to face him. It's deep voice sent shivers down the boy's spine as it spoke, showing little to no hint of emotion. Shinji felt his body tremble as he stepped closer, and took a seat opposite the intruder in his mind. **"** **My appearance disturbs you."** He didn't answer but it could see the fear in his eyes. The Angel's body began to twist and contort, warping it's shape until it resembled a perfect copy of Shinji, but with the mask still stuck on it's face. **"** **Is this better?"** If anything, it was worse.

"What are you doing here?" Shinji said. "I thought I killed you fourteen years ago." The Angel's eyes shone in the darkness. **"Y** **ou did no such thing. You merely destroyed my physical vessel. My true body, the core of my being, was absorbed into what you call your Eva Unit. When the Lilin pulled you back into the physical world a piece of me followed you out, taking refuge in your subconscious."** Shinji had more questions than he could count. "But why? Why did you follow me? Why did you wait so long to contact me?" He felt his anger begin to rise as he asked his final question. "Why you!? Why the hell did you follow me out and not Rei!?"

The Angel tilted it's head in curiosity, like it was studying some alien lifeform it had never encountered before. Finally it answered him. **"Why the female is not with us, I do not know. I assume it's purpose is better served inside the Evangelion. As for why I have not contacted you earlier, I was unable to. The choker the Lilin placed on you... restricted me, made my presence weaker. On top of that I cannot yet contact you while you remain conscious, and you had been having trouble sleeping in the days leading up to, as you call it, Fourth Impact."** Slowly, the Angel got up from it's seat and stepped closer, looking it's host over. **"And I entered your mind,"** It said. **"Because I was curious. The Lilin are an adaptive species, for certain, but an exceedingly feeble one. They are small, and brittle and easilly killed. They cannot even manifest their 'AT Fields' without assistance. I, on the other hand, am unmatched among my kind in raw power. There was no other on this planet with a greater will to achieve their goal. Or so I thought. Until I met you."**

The Angel stared into Shinji's eyes, as if examining his very soul. The boy tried to look away but it held him in place. **"A fledgling Lilin, unremarkable in almost every way, soundly defeated me in single combat while the rest of it's kind could only hope to slow me down. How did it beat me, what was it like, what was it's reason for being? I wanted to know."** It looked him over again before returning to it's seat **. "I am, disappointed. You are weak hearted, unable to handle adversity and hopelessly dependant on others."** The boy looked away. He was used to disappointing people and he didn't much care how this monster felt about him. "Then what are you doing here?" He asked, making no effort to hide his disdain for the creature. "You've already hurt me enough. Why don't you just leave me alone?"

The Angel leaned in closer and suddenly the Third Child felt very uncomfortable. **"Because I see a glimmer of potential in you."** It whispered as it got up from it's seat again. **"And if you will let me, I can make you an offer that will benefit us both."** The Angel loomed over Shinji, making him shrink back against the seat, as if it would some how protect him. "No! I don't want anything to do with you!" He yelled as the creature reached out to him. "Please just leave me alone!"

"Kenji!"

* * *

His eyes shot open, and he was back in the scrap iron house. Himari was looking down at him, holding him tightly by the shoulders. "Are you alright?" She asked. "You were screaming and tossing in your sleep." Shinji's cheeks turned scarlet in embarrassment as she laid her palm on his forehead. Her hands were warm and soft. "Umm, just a nightmare." He told her, dismissively. Himari gave him a concerned look, and Shinji half expected her to chew him out for trying to keep secrets from her. Instead she simply breated a sigh of relief as she took her hand off him. "You had me worried for a moment there." She said. "Well, the good news is you body's back at a level temperature. I expect you'll make a full recovery in the next day or so." "We'll let you out of the house after that." Kaito chimed in as he stood at a cutting board in the kitchen, teaching his daughter how to dice. "And then, we'll see if we can get you back home."

Shinji felt his heart sink in his chest, and he fought to hold back his tears. "I... I don't have a home." He said. "Not anymore. Not for a long time." Aki was dumbfounded. "How can you not have a home?" She asked, her voice echoing off the metal walls. "Everyone's got a home!" "Not me." Shinji replied, smiling sadly. "I lost mine years ago." Kaito gave him a look, he had the look of a man who had heard stories like this many times before. "And your parents?" The boy shook his head. "Gone. My Father abandoned me when I was very little. And my Mother..." He could say no more, and even if he could he didn't know what to tell them. He could say that she died, or that she had also abandoned him. Neither would be entirely wrong, but right now, he didn't even want to think of her; it hurt him too much. "Then, how did you survive?" The teens body shook as he spoke. "I had some friends who took me in and looked after me for a while but..." He turned away from the family as he felt the tears well up in his eyes. He didn't want them to see him like this. "But-"

He snapped out of his short bout of self loathing as he felt Himari pet him on the head. "There there, it's ok, it'll be alright." He felt like a child, being comforted in such a way. But then again, he'd never really known much affection as a kid. "Honey?" Kaito said. "Can we talk for a moment?" Himari nodded. "Aki, keep our guest company while Papa and I talk ok?" The child ran over to Shinji's bed and tried to get his attention with small talk about we how well she was doing in the kitchen and what she wanted to do when she grew up. "I'm gonna be a soccer player. Papa says they made lotsa money!" Shinjj wondered if she'd be able to play professionally by the time she came of age. "What do you wanna do?" "I, never really thought about it." He told her, only half listening. He was more preoccupied with what her parents were saying. They were too far away to hear but he could tell it was serious talk. The two spoke in shushed tones, and the wife looked to be doing maths in her head, counting the fingers on her hand. He had a feeling they were discussing his future there, and he wondered just how long he'd be allowed to stay with them.

When they finally came to their decision and came to speak with him, Shinji held his breath. What was going to happen to him? Would they try and find him a home? Would he be pushed out the door the moment he was well again? "Kenji," The husband said, in a serious tone of voice that made the boy start to worry. "After much deliberation, my wife and I have decided," He braced himself for the worst. "To adopt you."

Shinji could hardly believe what he was hearing. "What?" He asked them, in a voice so small it was near inaudible. "You're going to be staying with us." The man clarified. Himari beamed at him. "Welcome to the family!" The tears that he had tried so hard to fight back now flowed from his eyes like two tiny rivers. "Th- thank you..." He whispered, his voice shaking as he felt compelled to open his arms and the two, in turn, embraced him. "Thank you so much." The girl piped up. "Does that mean I've got a big brother?" Shinji smiled through the tears. "I... I guess so."

The next couple of days passed by slowly; Shinji would get as much rest as he could, Kaito and Himari brought him his meals and checked his heslth and Aki would bombard him with questions and little bits of information about herself. Very little of it actually interested him but he was grateful to ha e something to do aside from lying around, waiting to get better. Finally the day came when his new family were convinced it was safe for him to leave the house. His family. The words sounded strange in his head.

"Alright Kenji, you ready?" Kaito said as the boy got dressed. "Be right there Kaito!" He called back. He wasn't really comfortable calling them Mom or Dad. Misato was the closest thing to a Mother he'd ever known and, as much as he hated to admit it, Gendo Ikari would always be his Father. "Make sure to wrap up warm. Still a little chilly out there. Shinji joined him at the door, pulling a warm sweater over his head as Kaito pulled on the handle and showed him his new hometown.

Stretched out in front of him was a huge town, filled with scrap metal houses not unlike the one be'd spent the past few days in. Vendors sat ouside their houses, selling food and clothes fora currency Shinji didn't recognize. Children ran about the streets, playing tag, kicking balls atound and squabbling over makeshift toys. At one edge of the town a massive steel wall stretched up at least thirthy feet into the sky and behind it, tall buildings that seemed to touch the clouds. But one thing stuck out to Shinji more than anything else: smack dab in the middle of town was a big glass dome, containing dozens upon dozens of plants.

"Welcome Kenji," The man said, "To Elysium."

Next Episode: Peaceful Times


	5. Episode 5: Peaceful Times

A/N: Welcome to Chapter 5 everyone and thank you for sticking with me as I do my best to juggle my vacation and my writing. Fortunately I'll be back home in just a couple more days so I should hopefully start to release new Chapters on a more regular basis. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my latest installment of (Never) Alone.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

 **By Rollinaround**

Episode 5

Peaceful Times

* * *

Shinji looked about the town in awe as Kaito led him through the streets, while Himari took their daughter to school. He had figured any remaining human settlements would be nothing but military outposts, surrounded by heavy artillery and grizzled veterans, constantly on the verge of collapse and a gun in the hands of everyman and woman over sixteen. But what he saw now was a poor but bustling town, where the residents went about their lives, with no clear signs of fear even as a war for the sake of humanity raged on outside the city limits. This was a place where people didn't just survive, they lived.

"This here is the largest human settlement not under the control of WILLE," Kaito told him as they wound their way through thin steel alleyways and rustic markets, "And the second largest city on Earth with a total population of six thousand." The boy stared at the ground in shame. Six thousand? The largest city on Earth had a population of only six thousand? Just how badly had he damaged the world that it had come to that? His guilt weighed on him like a millstone around his neck. His new guardian, being a perceptive man, gave Shinji a smile and a reassuring pat on the back. "Hey, what's wrong kiddo?" The teen shrugged it off. "Sorry, I just didn't know things had gotten that bad." Kaito kept his hand on the boys shoulder as the dome of the town farm came into view. "Life is pretty rough nowadays." He admitted. "But it could be a lot worse. As long as life can still exist, there's still hope for the mankind. Speaking of which..."

Inside the huge dome lay a shallow pit containing at least three miles of fertile soil, from which sprouted countless plants. Shinji saw tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, cabbages, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, basking in the morning sun and seperated into a series of small fields, some bearing crops, some just beginning to sprout and some still being tilled. "The dome can provide them with heat and artificial sunlight when the weather turns." Kaito explained. "And if you have look over at the far end you'll see a staircase. That leads down to a small cave where we grow mushrooms." Shinji was amazed, he didn't think something like this could exist in this world. The man continued. "Most of the Earth's soil is buried under this damned red dust." He said, scraping the sand away with his gloved hand to reveal a patch of soft, brown dirt. "But under that, the ground is extremely fertile and, with some time and a little luck, new life can still grow there." "But, what about water? I thought all the world's water had been contaminated in the Third Impact." Kaito couldn't help laughing. "I'm surprised a boy your age doesn't know how we get drinkable water. Well, clean water can still be found beneath the earth, most settlements have a way to remove the LCL (though that can take weeks) and others have found a way to recycle and purify their own *ahem* fluids. But, we in Elysium have found a better way."

He pointed over the city walls, and Shinji instantly knew what he was looking at. A tall building, perhaps the tallest in the city, pointed towards the sky, and on the outside he saw a number of circular tanks, each of which was filled with water. And in each of the tanks, the LCL contaminated water slowly turned from deep red to pale red, to purple and finally to a beautiful blue liquid that sparkled whenever the sunlight touched the building. "I know what that is!" Shinji said, feeling short of breath. "They were using that to purify the ocean, well, before Third Impact." Kaito raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know how humans get clean water but you knew that?" Shinji felt his pulse speed up dramatically. "Uh, well we had a book about the oceanic center from a few years ago, back when I still lived with my parents." He said, trying to act casual. Kaito simply shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you're right. The water treatment plant can turn LCL into pure water perfectly safe to drink, within the space of a few days." Two long pipes ran though the town from behind the walls: one going to a line of paid dispensers, the other going straight to the farm's sprinklers.

"The ability to easily grow our own food," The man explained as he led Shinji inside the dome for a closer look, "Has made us arguably the most prosperous city in the world, and the only one to still have a functioning economy." The farmers smiled at Kaito as he passed by them. They were the kind of warm, friendly smiles of people he'd known fo a long time. "You seem popular." Shinji said as Kaito shoook hands with everyone he passed. "Well I look out for he people outside the wall." The man told him. "I speak for them, give my support when times are hard, help to organize the community. I guess I've kind of become the unofficial leader out here."

At the end of the farm stood a tall, grizzled gentleman, old enough to be Shinji's grandfather. His body was lean but muscular, his face hard and square-jawed and he had the look of a man who took no nonsense from anybody. "You're late Kaito." He said gruffly. "Sorry Wilson. Just had to make sure Kenji here was fully recovered." The old man stroked his mustache as he looked Shinji over. "Kenji, this is Mr Clarke. He's an expat from Britain; immigrated to Japan after Second Impact. "'Immigrated.' Pah." The old man shook his head as he finished inspecting the boy. "Can't say he looks like much but I suppose he'll do..." He said before thrusting a basket in the boy's face. "Now, get to weeding and be quick about it. We've wasted enough time already."

Shinji blinked as his command. "Weeding?" The man sighed impatiently. "Yes, weeding boy! Pulling up weeds. You didn't think you could just lay about all your life did you?" Shinji took the basket off him and looked out onto the fields, unsure of where to start. "Well, hop to it then! Come on!" The man barked, clapping his hands and sending the boy running off into the fields, pullings weeds out of the ground as fast as he could

The day passed by at a snails pace as Shinji went about his work. He wasn't used to working this hard. He was too young to work full time and his high school didn't allow after-school jobs but the world didn't work that way anymore; everyone who was old enough was expected to pull their own weight, otherwise they were just a burden. Pulling up weeds was by no means a difficult job but it was an amazingly tedious one, and while he had helped Kaji out on his melon farm many years ago, it was one thing to pull weeds for a couple of hours, it was another to do it for a whole day. Shinji wiped the sweat from his brow as Mr Clarke knelt opposite him and periodically "motivated" the workers. "Pick up the pace you lot! We'll never get our work done at this rate!" "We might!" One of the workers shot back, "If you spent more time working than you did shouting at us!" Mr Clarke grumbled quietly to himself as their laughter echoed around the dome.

"So boy," The old man said, "Who were you before you came here?" Shinji had learned to expect questions like this and already had an answer prepared. "Not a lot to tell." He said, shrugging. "My Mom and I drifted from place to place. Never stayed anywhere too long. Mom never told me why but I think she was running from something." "For someone who's spent their life on the move you don't seem like a survivalist. " Mr Clarke replied bluntly. Shinji stumbled a little on that one. "Well- well I was also very sheltered; I had to rely on other people, pretty much all my life." Mr Clarke returned to his work as they spoke. "Suppose that makes sense. Many parents, those who had children before Third Impact, would rather their children have a normal life, forgetting of course that this **is** what's normal now. By the looks of you I'd say you were born right around the time of the incident." Shinji nodded. "Hard luck that."

"When I ran out of people to rely on," Shinji said, "I didn't have anything to live for. So..." Mr Clarke nodded grimly. "I heard about that. Damn fool thing to do boy. No matter how bad things get you will always have something to live for even if you don't know what it is." The man let out a heavy sigh. Shinji had the feeling he was speaking from experience but didn't want to press him on it; it didn't seem right. Instead, he simply bowed his head and quietly returned to his work.

The next couple of days were pretty uneventful: Shinji and Aki would go to work and school, Kaito and Himari would go off to do their own jobs and then they'd all come home, have dinner and go to bed. Sometimes Shinji would weed, other times he would pick, and sometimes he would help till the empty fields to plant fresh crops but each day felt more or less the same. The last day of the month was a little different though: As the sun began to set the workers brought out a number of wooden crates, in which they gathered the very best crops from the past 30 days. Outside the dome, Shinji could see Kaito talking with a group of men, all of them wearing smart clothes and stone faced expressions

"What's going on?" Shinji asked one of the farmers. "Monthly collection." She told him. "On the last day of each month the Mayor's people come to collect the bulk of our crops for the inner city." Shinji blinked at that. "You get paid right?" She chuckled bitterly. "Barely. The Mayor had the farm built himself. He thinks the ability to grow our own food is payment enough., but he pays us a small amount just so we'll buy water from him."

A feeling of unease washed over the boy as he carried one of the crates out of the dome and loaded it into their van, and as he walked away he saw a look in their eyes, the kind he was becoming all too familiar with.

Contempt.

* * *

The massive, bird-like warship known as the AAA Wunder sat proudly at the edge of Outpost 7 as Asuka Shikinami and the Ayanami Type climbed aboard. The ship was still showing signs of damage from the battle with Eva Unit 13, though it was nowhere near as bad as the damage their own Eva Units had suffered.

The clone was quietly led to a cell upon her arrival. No doubt she would spend the rest of her life there. Asuka, on the other hand, had been ordered to report to Captain Katsuragi immediately. The cold, grey corridors of the Wunder stretched on for miles as Asuka made her way towards the Captain's Quarters. She could have taken a quicker route there, but that route led her straight past Makinami's quarters, and she was the last person Asuka wanted to talk to right now. She was not so lucky.

"Welcome back Princess!" The Fourth Child called as her fellow pilot approached the Captain's Quarters. "Did you enjoy your camping trip with the Puppy?" "Not now." Asuka growled, keeping her head low. "What's wrong?" Mari teased. "Did he keep you up late at night?" The Captain's eyes shone blue as she turned to face Pilot Makinami. "I said not. Now!" Mari blinked in shock as Asuka disappeared around a corner. The Second Child was famously bad tempered but she wasn't used to seeing her that angry. "Asuka?"

The door to the Captain's Quarters slid open with an audible "whoosh", revealing a decent-sized office with an en suite bedroom. The office was mostly empty save for the Captain's desk, a couple of medals and a small booze cabinet, containing a selection of Pre-Impact liquers and a six pack of Yebisu beer. Sitting at the desk was Colonel Misato Katsuragi, going over what looked like some kind of schematic diagram. "Come in." She said, without looking up from her work. Asuka stepped into the office and saluted her Commanding Officer. She was a little nervous. What would she tell Misato, and more importantly, would she believe it?

"Your report?" "Yes Ma'am!" Asuka said, standing at attention. "After the battle with Unit 13, I retrieved the Third Child from his Entry Plug. The Ayanami ejected from the Mark 9 before it's destruction and followed us back to Outpost 7." Misato looked up for just a moment. "That's interesting," She said, "You didn't have to take it prisoner?" The Second Child shook her head. "No Ma'am. It followed us of it's own free will. She- **it** seemed to be attached to the Third Child."

"And where is Shinji Ikari?" Misato asked as she returned to her work. "Why was he not brought aboard with the Ayanami Type?" Asuka did her best to maintain her composure. "He's dead Ma'am." She said. Misato paused in her work, but kept her head bowed. "He fell from a clifftop, into the river below. He was trying to commit suicide. I tried to talk him out of it but..." She took a deep breath. "But I was too late: the ground crumbled away beneath him and he fell to his death." There was a moment of silence between the two. "You're certain he's dead? " Asuka nodded. "The cliff was at least 40 feet high and the river was full of sharp rocks. The chances of him surviving are astronomical."

"I see..." Misato said as she got up from her desk and looked out her window, onto the barren wasteland. "Is there anything else?" Captain Shikinami shook her head. "No Ma'am." "Then you may go." Asuka quietly saluted her Captain, then left her office. Misato Katsuragi stared out at the world she'd protected for most of her life and took a moment to reflect on the events that had brought then here, before she sat back at her desk, and returned to work.

Mari was waiting outside Misato's office as Asuka stepped back out into the endless corridors of the Wunder. "You heard us didn't you?" She asked, her eyes shooting daggers as the bespectacled Eva pilot. Mari nodded. She was not wearing the catlike smile she usually had plastered on her face. She just gazed at her, quietly, sympathetically. Her partner shrugged. "Guess it doesn't matter." She said, making her way back to her own quarters. "You didn't exactly hear anything top secret." "Asuka." Mari said, following after her. "I know this must b3 hard for you. But if you ever need someone to talk to-""Save it. Asuka grumbled as she started to walk faster. "I'm fine." Mari rushed after her. "Asuka I've known you for fourteen years; I can tell when you're upset. You don't have to hide anything-"

"I said I'm fine!" Asuka screamed, her voice echoing down the corridors. She stopped in the hallway for just a moment to catch her breath, panting in exhaustion and frustration. "I told him myself, we don't have time to worry about just one person anymore. Mari tried to follow after her but by the time she got there, Asuka had already closed the door to her quarters behind her. Mari listened carefully at the door, and inside she could hear the sound of her fellow pilot, huffing to herself.

"You stupid brat..." She choked.

* * *

A couple floors below, Rei Ayanami sat in her cell, alone. She knew there were men guarding her just outside the door to her brig, but they had made no attempt to communicate with her, even as they imprisoned didn't mind this; she was used to such treatment and she had no interest in interacting with the guards. Her new home was little different from her old one, in fact in some ways, it was an upgrade.

A black steel choker was attached to her neck, the same she had seen Shinji wearing when she retrieved him from this very ship. The Commander had explained it's purpose to her, just in case she attempted to interfere with it and risk terminating the boy before he fulfilled his purpose. She expected WILLE would use it to terminate her, once she stopped being useful to her. To them, she was nothing but a tool. Something to be used and then die. They were no different from Commander Ikari in that way. The girl lay down on her bed and contemplated her future. She did not want to die, but she had no desire to return to NERV either. Her future seemed bleak, but there was one thing that kept her clinging to life. One lone reason for her existence.

The other Rei Ayanami.

Shinji had told her that the other Rei had been absorbed into Eva Unit 01, and his Father had confirmed it's presence aboard the AAA Wunder, giving her specific instructions not to interact with it. Perhaps that was why. Perhaps if she could somehow contact the other Rei she could teach her things: what they had been created for, what their true purpose was. She had seen the other Rei once, from inside her tube. If there was even a minute chance that the two could meet, then she had to try.

She closed her eyes, and did her best to imagine a second Rei, standing at the foot of her bed. "Rei Ayanami..." She whispered. "Can you hear me?"

And in those quiet, late hours of the evening, when most of the crew were asleep in their beds, she felt the ship gently rumble in response.

 **Next Episode : Trouble in Paradise**

* * *

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed Chapter 5. I decided to use this Chapter mostly to set up things to come later on in the story. I promise that next Chapter things will start to heat up again.

-Rollinaround


	6. Episode 6: Trouble in Paradise

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, I just needed some time to get it together after getting back from vacation and returning to work. From now on I'm going to try and release a new chapter once a week, to give me more time to work on the story and so you guys know when the next installment's coming out.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Chapter 6

Trouble in Paradise

* * *

The bridge of the AAA Wunder was deathly quiet as the Ayanami clone was led into the room. The girl the organization had chosen to name "Rei II" showed no sign of fear, even with the threat of a gun pressed against her back and an explosive collar around her neck. The day of her interrogation had come, and what she told them could very well decide her fate. Asuka Shikinami stood in the shadows of the Wunder's bridge, watching the Ayanami Type very closely. The clone was difficult to read, and she had to be on the lookout for even the faintest hint of a lie. High above them stood the ships Captain, staring down at the cyan haired girl like a judge looking down on a defendant.

"Alright," she said, her face hidden beneath the visor of her hat, "Let's take this from the top: what exactly was your role in setting off the Fourth Impact?" All eyes were on Rei as she spoke. "My orders were to descend into Central Dogma with pilots Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa and release the Twelth Angel so it could be absorbed by Unit 13. I carried out my orders, once the Spears of Longinus were removed from Lilith's body, but I was given no instructions after that, and my Evangelion began to act on it's own. After that, I ejected from my the Eva Unit before it was destroyed by Captain Shikinami."

Asuka studied the girl carefully. With the exception of the first Rei, Gendo Ikari had shown no regard for the Ayanami Series before, treating them as highly expendable, and the clones had little to no concern for their own lives. "Pilot Shikinami tells me you followed her of your own volition. Why did you choose to eject yourself from the Mark.09 and why did you follow Pilot Shikinami back to the Wunder?" "I was not ordered to remain in the Adam's Vessel and I did not want to die. However, with my objective complete I had no other purpose so I followed Shinji and Shikinami, that I might find a new reason for living." The Colonel was unconvinced. "Only one other version of you showed any sign of autonomy or need for self worth. The rest of your kind have been little more than tools for him. I find it hard to believe Ikari would let you get away if he didn't have some use for you." The clone stared back at Katsuragi. "If he did," she said, "I can't say what it is. I came here for my own reasons." Misato rubbed her temple and grumbled in frustration. "Then I assume you have no idea what Gendo Ikari is planning do you?" The Ayanami type shook her head. "I do not. But I do have some information on Eva 13, and I have overheard plans for a new type of Evangelion Unit."

Asuka's eyes lit up at that. Just when she was starting to think the clone had just been a waste of space, she'd offered them a chance to gain the advantage against NERV for the first time in years. "And what exactly do you know of this?" Misato said. But the clone remained s9ilent. Asuka rolled her eyes. It figured it wasn't going to be that easy. "You do realize you could be in a lot of trouble if you don't answer us right?" She said, speaking out of turn. "I suspect your organization plans to kill me regardless." Rei replied. "I am well aware that you see me as a threat." Misato seemed unsurprised. "We are willing to let you live if you cooperate-" "I don't believe you." The Second Child was caught off guard. Rei II had never spoken so boldly before. "If you want me to give you the information you seek then I must be able to trust you and if you are to gain my trust, then I will need something in return."

Misato gritted her teeth. She clearly hadn't expected Rei of all people to start making demands and acquiescing to her could put all humankind in jeopardy. Still, the information she offered could very well turn the tides of war and the chance was too good to pass up. "So be it." the Colonel growled. "Tell us what you want then and... we will consider it." The clone nodded obediently. "I wish to meet the other Rei Ayanami; the one that Shinji knew." "That's impossible." Misato replied, already beginning to lose her patience, "Rei Ayanami is gone." Rei II shook her head as the men and women of WILLE watched her like a hawk. "I assure you she is not. She has... reached out to me." "Reached out to you?" Asuka asked, wondering if the girl had gone mad. Rei nodded in response. "From inside of Evangelion Unit 01."

A chill ran up Asuka's spine as, all of a sudden it felt like they were sailing in very dangerous waters. And the choice they made could decide the fate of all humanity.

* * *

"Time to go Kenji!" Himari called as Shinji pulled on his coat. The boy had spent the past month working the farm under Mr Clarke but today was going to be different: today he would be going out with Himari on a scavenger run in the wasteland. Every week they'd send a few small groups outside the city to search for food, water, scrap metal and any other useful relics or materials. While they did grow their own food on the outskirts of Elysium and had access to water, the aqua dispensers charged a lot for even a single large bottle of water and most of their crop was taken by the people behind the wall. Scavenger runs helped them to stay fed and hydrated during shortages, which were sadly not uncommon in the slums. "Sometimes the farmers will bring empty bottles to work and take the water from the sprinklers," Himari explained as they made theier way out into the desert, "But the Mayor has watchmen posted all across the wall, and they consider it stealing."

Shinji hadn't been told much about the Mayor; Mr Ginjiro Itachi. Whenever he asked about him they usually referred to him in vague terms and what little he'd been able to clean didn't tell him much. All he really knew was that he wasn't especially generous, which wasn't really surprising, given the state of his new home. He only knew what the man even looked like because his face was printed on all of his money: thin, grey bills that bore the rather awkward name of Tachiyen. A gaunt, faintly wrinkled face dominated the body of every single bill Shinji had laid his eyes on. His wore thick sunglasses, and his face was plastered with a big cheesy that utterly failed to hide the fact he looked more like an aging gangster than a politician.

But, those thoughts were tucked away at the back of his mind now. He was more concerned with the task at hand. How long would they be away from the city, what were the chances of them bringing back a good haul, and most importantly, what kind of dangers would they face on their trek through the Post Impact world. Himari had made him well aware that they could be at risk if they didn't keep their wits about them. Still, she had chosen to take him with her, despite his age, as he'd need to be ready to face the harsh realities of the world sooner or later. "Just stay close to me and follow my instructions," she said, "And you'll be fine ok?"

Shinji smiled nervously as the group made their way through the ruins. Although he knew of the danger they were in, he was grateful for a chance to get out of the dome for a while. He didn't dislike working the farm but it was exhausting and monotonous, and Mr Clarke, while meaning, could be a little overbearing at times. Besides, things weren't going so well over there; a couple of weeks ago one of the townsfolk had gotten the bright idea to try and connect the farm waterpipe to one leading to his house and, when Kaito found out and tried to have it removed, the farms pipeline was badly damaged. As a result, about half of the water going to the sprinklers leaked out into the dirt, and it had a noticeable effect on the quantity and quality of the crops. At least now he could put those thoughts aside for a while.

They did not travel alone. With them were a tall, bearded man in his late twenties and a girl with pixie hair who looked a couple years older than Shinji. The man didn't make for good conversation but the girl was extremely talkative. "So," she said, "You ever been scavenging before?" The boy shook his head. "I always kinda stayed at home, while my Mom went out to look for food." She gave Shinji a cheeky grin. "So a Momma's boy then?" He chuckled a little. "I guess you could say that. I've always felt kinda helpless on my own." The girl gave him a pat on the back. "Eh, it's ok." She said, "You'll learn. I'm Ren by the way." He smiled shyly. "Kenji. Nice to meet you." "You know what we're in for kid?" The man asked Shinji, as a vast dense forest slowly came into view. "Not really." Shinji replied. "We gotta keep our eyes out for the Nemesis Series, lunatics, Shriekers and of course we have to stay clear of Tokyo 3." Shinji didn't know what they could do if they encountered any of those. Elysium didn't allow the people in the slums to have guns and while they each had a combat knife, you couldn't exactly stab an artificial angel to death.

Shinji took a pair of binoculars out of his backpack and stared out into the woods. The trees were packed together tightly and their branches drooped over, obscuring the forest with their blood red leaves, but in spite of that, he just managed to get a glimpse of a window through the trees. "I can see some houses in the woods," he said, "But I can't tell how many." Himari smiled. "Well that's a good start. Just stay close to us and keep your eyes peeled. It's very easy to get ambushed in a place like that."

The woods were dense and cramped and the crooked trees blocked out most of most the sun, meaning they had to rely on their flashlights. There was a sound like glass shattering as the fallen leaves turned to dust beneath their feet, and they came upon a number of small wooden chalets surrounding a fire pit. "Looks like an abandoned campsite." Himari said as they looked around the buildings for any signs of life. "Looks like we're the only ones here..." She said as they finished searching the outside. "Alright, let's search the houses. Ren and I will search the west side. Daisuke, you and Kenji take the east. The bearded man nodded as he grabbed Shinji by the arm and pulled him along. "H- hey!" Shinji yelped as Daisuke dragged the boy behind him. "You know I can walk right?" "You're slow." Daisuke said as he approached the largest cabin. "We'll start here and work our way down."

Red dust scattered in the wind as Daisuke kicked in the door, sealed shut by core material. "That's a good sign." He said as he shone his flashlight into a dusty living room. "It usually means we're the first ones here. But that doesn't mean you can let your guard down, so keep your mouth shut and don't rush into anything, got it?" Shinji nodded quietly as they searched the living room. After being abandoned for fourteen years he expected the cabin to be in a state of disrepair but the shell of core material had kept the building surprisingly well preserved as time marched on. There was a little mold hear and there and the room was covered in dust but the walls and furniture remained were in pretty good condition. There were a couple of bookcases filled with books and DVDs , which they would come back to later. They were looking for food and water first and foremost and anything they couldn't fit in their packs could go in the cart they brought along.

Their next stop was the kitchen, naturally. Much of the food had long gone bad, not helped by the fact that the refrigerator had stopped working years ago. Shinji almost threw up when he saw the remains of what had once been a hamburger steak. But there were a few cans of preserved food that would still be edible. Daisuke grinned as he pocketed a tin of pork and beans for himself. It had been years since he'd tasted meat. The bedrooms were mostly empty but they found a couple of boardgames and they could do with a few spare blankets and pillows. The rest of the cabins were more or less the same, just a little smaller. But at least they didn't have any of the roofs fall on them or get jumped by some madman, and by the time they regrouped at the fire pit the cart was filled with supplies, leisurely distractions and little trinkets they could sell at the markets. "Looks like we hit the jackpot with this place." Ren said as she slapped Shinji on the back, "Nice job there kid." Shinji smiled at her. He didn't want to be too proud of himself but it was good to feel useful. "Heh, beginners luck I guess."

By this point it was past noon, and they needed to get back to Elysium before it got dark. They took an alternate route out of the forest on the off chance that they would find more supplies on the way back. They were not so lucky. They did find something though, and what they found made their blood run cold in their veins.

Over two dozen red titans loomed over them, standing perfectly still like some macabre art piece. Most of them were missing their body parts and each of them was in some kind of twisted position, as if frozen in a state of endless suffering. They were all standing in a line, and at the very front they saw a final Impact victim, that seemed to have been leading the group. This one was much taller than the others, and Shinji felt his heart stop for a moment as he realized exactly what they were looking at.

"No..." He whispered as he took a step backwards. "No no no no..." "Kenji? Are you alright?" Himari asked him, reaching out to the boy before he suddenly bolted, sprinting through the trees and out of sight. "Dammit!" Daisuke yelled as he charged after the boy. "Get back here you idiot!" But Shinji couldn't go back. Not after what he'd just seen. The full weight of his mistakes hit him with the force of a runaway train and he just couldn't take it anymore. The tall, thin trees stretched out before him like the bars of a prison as he sprinted through the woods until finally he found himself back in the barren wasteland they'd come from. He didn't know if he was running back towards Elysium, nor did he care. He was just too horrified to think. All he wanted to do was get away, get away and forget that terrible sight.

And then, after running for god knows how long, he froze. Off in the distance he saw an emaciated, human-like figure, it's eyes shining in the dim light of the evening. Fear gripped Shinji's heart as he stood there like a deer in the headlights, before he felt Daisuke's hand on his shoulder as he was pulled to the ground. "Get down!" He growled. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The glowing lights of the Type D Nemesis passed above them for just a moment, before the creature turned away from them. "What is that?" Ren whispered as she and Himari laid prone beside them. "A Shrieker." Daisuke said. "Time to use that Tagger."

Himari nodded silently as she reached inside her backpack and pulled out three pieces of metal, which she assembled into what looked like a small sniper rifle. It was one of the few pieces of modern tech the city provided it's lower class citizens. A thin blue laser ran from the rifles barrel to the robots side, and a tiny flechette shot forth, sticking in the Shriekers side. The darts tail lit up, marking it's target, as Himari took a second shot, striking it in the head. Before Shinji even heard the sound of the Snipers guns going off, the Nemesis was struck through it's head and beacon by a pair of superheated bolts, leaving a brief red streak in the air and two molten holes in it's body. "Leave the body." Himari said as she took Shinji by the arm and led the group back to Elysium. "The guards will come around to collect it in the morning."

Night had fallen by the time they returned to Elysium. Shinji remained silent as they made their way back home. He was still trying to process what he had seen back in the woods. All he could think of was those grim, red figures, looming over the trees, gazing down at him, judging him for his sins. His eyes were just beginning to glisten with tears when he felt Ren's hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" He shook his head. "It's ok," she said, "Those things scared me too the first time I saw them. You'll get used to it in time." The former pilot shook his head as the dome came into view. "You don't understand..." He whispered. "What happened back there, it was my fau-"

He was cut off by the screams of a young man in pain. "You lying, dirt-eating little bastards!" Someone shouted as the group approached the farm. "We bring you into our city, give you food and clean water, and you have the balls to try and steal from us!?" "Oh no..." Daisuke whispered as Himari held the group back. "The Mayors men." She said. "I was hoping they'd have left by the time we got back." A young farmer was laying on the ground, clutching his stomach while Kaito and Mr Clarke tried to reason with a group of suits, wielding steel bats, lead pipes and a number of other bludgeons. "I swear it wasn't us!" Kaito yelled as one of the thugs brandished his bat at him, "It was just this one guy, siphoning the water for himself. The rest of us were trying to stop it!" But the suits didn't want to hear it. "You've been taking us for granted Hamasaki." The ringleader said as he stalked around Shinji's guardian, "But I think there's a way you can make this up to us: boys, get in there and take all the crops they have, by force if necessary!" "Wait!" Kaito yelled, "You can't do this! If you take all our crops we'll star- UGH!" The man fell to his knees as the thug drove his steel bat into his stomach. "You're problem, not ours."

Shinji couldn't bear to watch anymore. Without thinking, he pushed past Himari and charged headlong towards Kaito's assailant. "Shinji no!" Himari yelled but her plea fell on death ears. He knew he was going up against a man bigger, stronger than him, plus he was vastly outnumbered, but it didn't matter; he had to do something. And he was rewarded with the feeling of steel hitting his cheek and the taste of blood in his mouth. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Mr Clarke, screaming in the face of the Mayors thugs.

* * *

" **I don't understand**." The Angel said as he opened his eyes to find himself back in the corner of his mind. " **Even when you are hopelessy outmatched and outnumbered you still go into battle, completely unprepared**." It leaned in closer until all Shinji could see were the two black voids where it's eyes should have been. " **Why**?" "Because I have to." Shinji replied as he pulled himself up, "Because if I don't the people I care about will get hurt, and if I don't at least try to stop it, it's like I'm hurting them." The Angel shook it's head as it sat back down. " **Your reasoning makes no sense Lilin** **. Besides, you cannot help them alone. Without your Eva you run into a fight you can't win and, through your weakness, you hurt yourself as well**."

Shinji looked away from the Angel. He knew what it was implying and he didn't like it. "Forget it." He said, "I don't want anything from you." " **Then your friends will continue to suffer,** " it said, " **Perhaps until the day they die, all because you were too afraid to do what is necessary.** " Shinji finger nails dug into his legs as the Angel berated him. "What do you want?" He caught a faint glimmer in the creatures eye as it gave him the terms of it's deal. " **For now, I simply need you to let me into your conscious mind. In exchange, I will give you the power you need**." Shinji sat in complete silence as he thought it over. He really didn't like the idea of letting the Angel in his head but he knew things would likely never get better for his new family unless he took it's offer. " **Or,** " the Angel said, " **You can just run away again.** " Shinji looked up at the intruder in his mind. "Fine." He growled, his eyes filled with anger and determination. "You have a deal." He stood up, and opened the door to his conscious mind, as the dream world faded away.

* * *

Shinji awoke to find his world blurred and foggy, with the voices of his friends echoing around him. "You heartless brutes!" Mr Clarke roared as Kaito did his best to hold the old man back, "Attacking a boy his age!" He threw a punch at the ringleaders nose, hitting the man hard enough to draw blood, but he was quickly overpowered by their superior numbers. "You're a funny man..." The thug sneered as he wiped the blood from his nose. "I think it's time we taught you some respect." He raised his baseball bat high in the air and brought it down hard, aiming for the man's head. But, instead of bashing the old mans head in, the bat was caught in the hands of the same boy it had struck mere moments ago. "Leave him alone." Shinji said as he squeezed the weapon, crushing it as if it was made of tin foil.

The man threw a punch at the teen but Shinji pushed him away, sending him flying. A second thug came at him with a lead pipe but knocked out with a single punch to the face. A pair of them grabbed him by the arms while the rest of the suits charged at him with their weapons a panic, Shinji tried to pull the two men off him and ended up throwing one of them at his fellow thugs, knocking them over like bowling pins. "What is with this kid!?" One of them yelled as he tried to crawl out from under his allies. With most of the thugs already dealt with, Shinji grabbed the man holding his left arm and wrapped his fingers around his neck. "Get out." He said, before he threw the man into the van they had rode in on.

The ringleader pulled himself back up, confused and enraged by what had just happened. His eyes shot daggers at Shinji as he slowly and carefully made his way back to the van. "We'll remember this kid." He said, grinning maliciously, "And next time, we'll be ready. No matter how strong you are, even you can't stop a bullet!" And so, with their bodies and their egos badly damaged, Itachi's goons jumped into the van and sped away, back to the inner city.

Himari breathed a sigh of relief as she helped her husband back to his feet. "I wish you hadn't done that Kenji." she said. "They're just going to come back later, angrier than ever." But Shinji wasn't thinking about the future. He was too amazed by what he'd just done. For the first time in ages, he felt like things were going his way, like he could take on the whole world. "It doesn't matter." he said, "I'll be ready for them. I'm not gonna let them push you around anymore." "Come on..." Himari said, exhausted by the ordeal, "Let's get you home." As she led him back through the narrow alleyways, towards their riverside home. As he came down from the high he'd gotten from his victory, the boy thought of something he hadn't before, something that had been nagging at the back of his mind, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on, until now. "Himari?" "Yes Kenji, what is it?"

"Back there, while those guys were beating up on Kaito, why did you call me Shinji?"

Next Episode: Speak to Me

* * *

A/N: I ended up rushing this chapter a little to get it out on time so I apologize if this one is a little sloppy. I may come back to it later to fix any plotholes or awkward sentences. From this point on I'm going to try and release a new chapter every Wednesday and while I can't guarantee a specific time, I'll try to post each chapter around 3pm EST. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you next week for Chapter 7.

-Rollinaround


	7. Episode 7: Speak to Me

A/N: Hey guys, back on time with another chapter. Not much to say on this one except I've made a small adjustment to Aki's character as I felt what I had in mind earlier was a little too bland. Hope you guys enjoy it.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 7

Speak To Me

* * *

The sound of metal grinding against metal echoed across the ruins of Tokyo 3, the only real signs of life in the area in the fourteen years since Third Impact. The streets, if they could still be called that, were utterly devoid of life. Even the artificial lifeforms known as the Nemesis Series wouldn't patrol the city anymore. After all, there was nothing left for them to hunt. But if anyone was foolish enough to venture into the city, they could follow the metallic noises deep underground, into the depths of NERV HQ, where Commander Ikari stared down at a series of colossal, human shaped figures as each one of them was fitted with a set of solid steel armor.

The Commander didn't even react when he heard Doctor Fuyutski enter the room. "How long until they're ready to deploy?" The Doctor asked as he gazed down at the warped caricatures of humanity. "73 days, approximately." Ikari said. "We'll need time to prepare the dummy plugs, and to get the 'pilots' up to an acceptable Sync Ratio." Fuyutsuki felt a chill up his spine as he looked down at NERV's latest project. These were to be different from the Evangelion Units they had built before. It wasn't the things they were capable of that disturbed him, nor their purpose. The true horror lied i what they were made from. Most of their Evangelions were made using the body of Lilith as a base and Unit 13 was crafted from a pair of Adams. But those were gone now. For this project they would need to use something... different.

"I'm sure you didn't come here just for an update." Gendo said, his eyes hidden behind his vìsor. "What news have you brought me?" The Vice Commander cleared his throat as he pulled up the report. "Our spies at WILLE Outpost 7 have reported that the Third Child did not arrive at with Captain Shikinami as we expected. There are rumors floating around the outpost that say he has either committed suicide or been executed." For just a moment, Fuyutsuki caught a glimpse of surprise on the Commander's face. "That is unexpected." he said quietly, "Did Rei make it aboard the Wunder?" "She did." Fuyutsuki told him. "Then we have nothing to worry about." Fuyutsuki was genuinely suprised at Gendo's lack of reaction. "Is something wrong?" The Vice Commander shook his head. "I had just, expected more or a reaction from you." "I have known Katsuragi long enough to know that she would not have my son executed. I suspect this rumor is a deception, meant to make me doubt myself. If Shinji is dead, then it is a merely a small setback."

A sinister grin spread across Gendo Ikari's face as the Vice Commander excused himself.

"Besides, once our plans come to fruition, death will be nothing more than a bad memory."

* * *

Shinji Ikari squirmed awkwardly on his bed as he looked up at the family who'd taken him in just a month before. While Aki just sat there looking confused (her parents must have kept his identity a secret) Himari and Kaito were clearly feeling guilty, though he couldn't imagine why; he was the one who had lied to them, he was the one responsible for throwing their world into turmoil. Now, just as he was starting to really feel like he could call this place home, he suddenly felt very frightened and alone again. The rooms light bulb shone down on the boy, isolating him from the rest of the family as he sat on his bed, wondering where to begin.

"So..." he said at last, "How long have you guys known about me?" Kaito was the first to speak. "Pretty much since you arrived." Shinji couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. "That obvious is it?" Himari nodded in response. "You were wearing your plugsuit when you washed up on the riverbank." she explained, "We don't know a huge amount about the Evangelions but it's fairly common knowledge that only their pilots wore those suits and, as far as we know, there's only ever been one male pilot." Shinji's fingers dug into his legs as the memory of Kaworu's demise flashed in his mind. "Also, you're not the best liar." Kaito said, sheepishly, "It was pretty clear you were trying to hide something."

Shinji stared at the ground as the two explained themselves to him; he couldn't bring himself to look them in the eye. "Well, it was gtood while it lasted..." He whispered, defeated. "We're sorry we didn't tell you." Himari said, "We just thought you needed some time, before you were ready to talk about it." That only confused him more. "Why are you sorry?" he asked, "I'm the liar here. I ruined your lives, I ruined everyones lives, and I tried to take advantage of you." Kaito took a seat next to the boy to try an comfort him but he shuffled away. "I don't get it; why haven't you thrown me out? It's what I deserve. I'm a liar, I'm a murderer, I'm a two-faced coward!" So wrapped up was he in his own self-pity that he actually jumped when he felt Kaito's hand on his shoulder. "Nobody is going to throw you out Shinji." he said, "We understand why you wouldn't want anyone to know the truth about you. And we don't judge you. You clearly didn't mean to hurt anyone, and where not just going to send a lost, frightened boy out to face the world alone. Yes, you have made mistakes, but we can't hate you for it."

"The others did..." Shinji whispered. His voice trembled. "Misato did. She was the closest thing I had to a Mother and she threw me away, like I was nothing." Himari sat beside him, opposite her husband. "I'm sure she doesn't really hate you. She probably just-" "She put a bomb collar on me!" He snapped, before curling up in a ball. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean it." "We know Shinji." Himari said gently. "I just... I can't accept that. Not after everything that's happened."

Himari decided to drop the subject; it only seemed to make him feel worse. She just held him in her arms, and let him cool down. Her daughter stepped forward and petted her adopted brother on the head. She didn't fully understand what was going on but she could see the boy was hurting. "Whatever you've done Shinji, we won't abandon you." Himari said, "You're one of us now." The boy sniffed quietly as she held him. "Does anybody else know who I am?" Kaito shook his head. "Not that we're aware of. And don't worry, we're not going to tell them." "But," his wife added, "We do think you should tell them. The working men and women of Elysium are good people, and I'm sure they'll accept you." Shinji kept his head down. He couldn't bring himself to believe he could be forgiven.

"Well," Kaito said, "It's your decision Shinji. More importantly, we need to discuss the incident at the farm." Shinji had expected this. "You don't want me to get involved?" "It's not that we don't appreciate you trying to help," Kaito said, "But we don't want you to put your life in danger for us. If we'd been any further from the wall the snipers could have shot you!" Shinji didn't want to hear it. "I'm an Eva Pilot." he said, "I put myself in danger all the time. Besides, I've lost too many people by running away, and I'm not running anymore." Kaito frowned at the boy. "Please Shinji, we know you're just trying to help but please just keep your head low for a while. We're already on a razors edge right now, and we don't want to escalate things." Shinji took a deep breath. He had a feeling he wasn't going to win this argument. "Alright," he said, "As long as they don't hurt anyone, I'll let it go." "Thank you Shinji." Himari said, smiling. "Now, I think it's time we went to bed. It's been a long day, and we all need a good rest after what happened." Shinji nodded quietly as his family made their way to bed.

"But if they come back," he called, "And they do start hurting people, then all bets are off.

Shinji got little sleep that night; an univited visitor came to call later in the evening, when everyone else was asleep.

" **How interesting...** " The Angel said, it's voice echoing through Shinji's mind. The boy was so startled he almost fell out of bed. "What the hell are you doing here?" He hissed. " **Did you forget? You let me in.** " Shinji looked over at Kaito and Himari's bed. They must have been unable to hear the Angel, as they were still sound asleep. 'How long have you been able to do that?' He thought. " **From the moment you let me in. I didn't want to risk the others knowing about me, also I wanted to see how you fought without my guidance.** " 'And?' The Angel paused for a moment. " **You aren't used to fighting outside of your Eva, are you?** " 'Not really,' Shinji replied, 'It's one thing to fight an Angel, but hurting another person, it just feels wrong.' " **You will get used to it.** " Shinji pulled the covers over his head, as if it would block out the voice in his mind. He didn't want to get used to it, he didn't want to hurt people, but he knew that, sooner or later, he'd probably have to. He didn't want to think on it any longer, so he changed the subject.

'So,' he said, 'What exactly do you want out of this deal?' There was a long, uncomfortable silence before the Angel gave it's answer. " **When I followed you out of Unit 01, my goal was to find and join with Lilith, that I might carry out my objective and bring about a world ruled by Angels. But now, Lilith is gone and I am left without a purpose.** " For a moment, Shinji felt a hint of empathy for the monster in his head. " **So, I conceived a new reason for being. To understand the Lilin who defeated me.** " 'Really?' Shinji scoffed, 'That's all you want?' " **For now.** " The Angel said, " **And I must admit, the mind of a Lilin is fascinating... Before now I've only been able to observe emotions from a distance but now, now I can see the full emotional spectrum up close. So many different feelings melding and clashing with one another.** "

'Glad you're having so much fun in there' Shinji grumbled, fed up of listening to it. " **But what interests me the most,** " it said, ignoring him, " **Are the feelings you have for your former allies.** " 'Watch it!' Shinji growled. " **Whenever you think of them I feel every emotion at once: sadness, anger; fear, remorse; hate, even little specks of happiness and love, for the people who despise you.** " Up until now, Shinji had kept his disdain for the Angel in check, but he could contain himself no longer. 'Stop it!' he screamed in his mind, 'Whatever I feel for them is none of your business!' His heart beat fast and tears flowed from his eyes as he buried his face in his pillow. 'Just leave me alone...' He tried desperately to get some sleep but his troubled mind wouldn't let him. All he could do was lie there and nurse his bitter resentment, for his parents, for WILLE, and for the 10th Angel.

" **So be it.** " the Angel said at last, " **I shall leave you be for now but you will have to get used to having me inside you.** " 'Fine.' Shinji replied, 'But if you're gonna live in my head I'll need to know your name. I mean I can't just keep calling you Angel all the time.' **"My kind have no need for names.** " The Angel replied. 'The Angels in the Bible had names.' Shinji replied. 'That's what Dr Akagi told me anyway.' " **Very well then, what names were given to these creations of Lilin superstition?** " The boy searched his memories, trying to remember the names the Doctor had told him once. He didn't really care that much about giving the Angel a name but at least it took his mind off his troubles. 'Let's see...' He said, 'There was Michael and Gabriel, Sandalphon, Israel, Uriel, he was the Angel of Arts...' " **Any Angels of Strength?** " 'There was one...' Shinji replied, 'Zeruel I think they called him.'

" **So be it then.** " the Angel said, " **From now on you may call me, Zeruel.** "

* * *

The next week or so passed by at a snails pace. Shinji's guardians had asked him to stay inside and keep his head down, for his own safety. He understood why they wanted him to stay hidden but he'd much rather be helping out on the farm or out scouting with Himari. As the days went on, the boy was beginning to go stir crazy. So, he did the only thing he could: he kept himself occupied. He cleaned the house, did the dishes, read books and cooked the family's meals. "I feel like a housewife." He mumbled, late one Wednesday afternoon as he was preparing dinner for his surrogate family. It was probably his favorite job, cooking. It had been quite a while since he'd been able to cook and he'd missed the smell of food cooking, and the smiles on peoples face as they tucked into a good meal. And now, with the supplies from their last scouting mission and the crops they'd saved by chasing of Itachi's thugs, they finally had the ingredients they needed to make some decent food.

"Bet you'd make a great wife!" Aki teased as she sat at the table, kicking her legs at the air. The school children had been given a week off and Shinji had been looking after her for the past couple days. She was a nice kid, a little disobedient and overly energetic but that was to be expected from someone who was only eight years old. Even though she'd learned the truth about her big brother, she was still having trouble processing it. "You don't look like I thought you would." She told him. "Oh really?" Shinji said as he stirred away at a pot of hearty vegetable soup, "How did you think I looked?" "I dunno." Aki said, shrugging. "Scarier?" Shinji smiled glumly. "I guess I can see why, after what I did. Though, most people hate me, rather than fear me."

"Aww..." Aki said as she came up behind him. "It's ok. We still love ya." She hopped up on her stool and petted the boy on the shoulder. "Will you stop that?" he moaned, brushing her hand off his shoulder. "It's embarrassing! Now do you wanna help me make dinner or not?" Aki nodded happily as she got to work, peeling potatoes. "So Aki, has anything strange happened around town?" "What do you mean?" his Sister asked. "You know," Shinji said, "Like, has anyone been causing trouble around town?" Kaito and Himari had generally kept him in the dark ever since the fight a week before. He knew they didn't want to worry him but he was going to worry either way, and after what he'd been through with WILLE and NERV, he'd started to really resent being treated this way. "A bunch of big men in suits have been going around town." Aki said, "They look kinda scary but I don't think they've been makin' trouble. "Dad says they work for the Mayor." Shinji gritted his teeth. He'd expected this. Part of him wanted to go out there, teach them a lesson and send them running back to their boss. But he'd made a promise to his family, and they hadn't hurt anyone, yet. "Where is Dad anyway?" He'd been asking himself the same question. Kaito and Himari were usually home by now. "I'm sure they'll be home soon Aki." he assured her, "They probably just have a lot to do today."

The two had just about finished making dinner when Shinji heard a commotion outside. He opened the door just a crack and peeked. What he saw was exactly as he feared: a pack of suited thugs beating down townsfolk and demanding to know where he was. One of them was wielding a shotgun. "We're through playing nice!" the man yelled. "Now tell us where he is!" Things only got worse when Himari ran onto the scene. "We've told you! He's moved on; he doesn't live here anymore!" The thug silenced her, driving the butt of his gun into her stomach. "How stupid do you think we are!" Shinji's hand balled into a fist. He'd seen enough.

'Zeruel?" he thought, 'These new powers I have, can I use them to form an AT Field?' The Angel thought on it for a moment. " **I believe so.** " it said, " **However, at this point I expect you will only be able to manifest it for a second or two. You'll need to be careful if you want to avoid being shot.** " Shinji took a deep breath as he pulled the door shut. "Aki," he said, "Go hide, and don't come out until I say so ok? I won't be long." "Shinji?" Aki said as the boy made his way to the back door, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going out..."

And with that, he stepped out of his home, and back into the fray.


	8. Episode 8: Angel Counterattack

A/N: Hey everyone. I'm sorry this chapter's a day late. I promise to do my best to not make this a regular thing. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Fun Fact: This chapter was originally going to be called Hostility Restrained butI thought that title would work better for chapter 9.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 8

Angel Counterattack

* * *

The gentle roar of the Wunder's engines echoed around Misato Katsuragi as she watched two armed guards bring Rei to the main engine room. They had agreed to let the girl meet with Eva Unit 01, with some limitations of course. Sealed around Rei's neck was a black steel choker, lined with ancient runes. "This choker is designed to terminate the wearer's life if the Captain deems it necessary or if certain conditions are met." Ritsuko explained, her voice emanating from the loudspeakers. "Any attempt to awaken, damage, or come within ten metres of Unit 01 will result in your immediate execution. Do you understand?" The clone turned to the sky box, from which the Captain and Vice Captain watched her, and silently nodded her head. "Very well then. Release the first seal."

The Captain held the DSS Trigger as if it were a pistol; her finger rested against the switch, ready to press it at the first sign of trouble and her hand gripped the device so hard her knuckles turned white. "Are you sure you can do it?" Ritsuko asked, "Because if you don't think you're up to it, I can always do it myself." Behind Katsuragi sunglasses, the Vice Captain saw a brief flicker of anger. "This is different from last time Ritsuko." she said, "You know that as well as I do." Ritsuko stared long and hard at her Commanding Officer. "Is it really?" she asked, "You knew Rei just as long as Shinji, if not longer." "Rei didn't live with me for several months. And even if she did, it's not the same person." Ritsuko said nothing. She simply returned her attention to the engine core. But Misato knew what was on the Doctor's mind. "If you're worried about how I'm feeling," she growled, "Then maybe you shouldn't have insisted on putting a bomb collar on him."

"I didn't want him dead any more than you did," Ritsuko said calmly as a loud hiss echoed echoed across the room, and steam exuded from the engine core as the first seal was released. Four black cylinders, each one twice the size of a human being, gradually unscrewed themselves, the massive steel brick that shielded the Eva split in two, and the two halves were pulled apart, revealing the head of a purple titan, it's body sealed in an adamantine cross. It's yellow eyes glowed in the dim light of the engine room, staring directly at Rei, as if it had expected her. "You may begin Rei."

Rei stood there in silence. She must had so many questions, she wasn't sure where to begin. After some thought, she decided to start with the simplest question. "Rei Ayanami," she said, "Are you there?" The ship rumbled gently around her, indicating a positive answer. "Are there, others like us?" The ship rumbled again. Now that she knew the other Rei could hear her, and answer her, Rei II chose to follow with the question that had bothered her most these past two months: "Rei Ayanami, for what reason were we created?" The Evangelion gave her no answer. "I think it would be best to stick to yes or no questions." Ritsuko told her. Rei decided to rephrase her question. "Do you know what we were created for?" There was a brief pause, before Rei heard a metal screeching noise echo around her. "Does that mean no?" The ship rumbled once more.

Misato gritted her teeth. Unit 01 appeared to have some small level of control over her ship. Granted, the being inside it was once an ally of theirs, but if she decided she didn't like what WILLE was doing, they could all be in serious trouble. 'Perhaps this is karma...' she mused as the Ayanami type asked her next question. "Are you alone in there?" The Captain heard that same metal screech in response. "Who is in there with you?" The Eva remained silent. Ritsuko was just about to remind Rei to stick to yes or no questions when the monitors began to flicker in front of her. And then, for just a moment, the screens projected the image of a woman. She was older, and her hair was the wrong color, but the resemblance to Rei Ayanami was uncanny.

"Ayanami." The Vice Captain said as she gazed down at the cyan-haired girl. "Of course..."

* * *

Shinji snuck around the slums of Elysium as quickly and quietly as he possibly could. He didn't want Itachi's men to know where he was staying. Himari lay on the ground, holding her stomach and staring up at her assailant. "Stop this Hiroki!" she yelled, "You're not going to find him!" "I'm only gonna say this one more time," the head thug said, aiming his shotgun at Himari's head, "Bring us the brat or I'll blow your brains out."

"I'm already here."

Hiroki whipped around to see the same boy who'd attacked him and his men a week before. Before he could pull the trigger, Shinji curled his hand into a fist and drove it into the thug's cheek. The boy's eyes widened, and he felt a rush of adrenaline as the shock ran up his arm. He'd only ever punched one other person before, and only because Toji insisted. Hiroki fell to the ground, screaming bloody murder as he held onto his broken jaw. Shinji just stood there, stunned that he was capable of doing that to another human being. That was all the time Hiroki needed to cock his shotgun, and fire it directly at the kid's head.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Shinji watched the pellets fly towards him. Fear gripped his heart like a vice, and all he could think of was protecting himself. His life flashed before his eyes: growing up with his Aunt and Uncle, his experiences as an Eva Pilot; his life with Misato, his time with Kaworu. He even saw a glimpse of his Mother; something he had long forgotten. Just before the buckshot hit his face, there was a flash of orange light, and an A.T Field manifested in front of him for a split second. Hiroki was so surprised he didn't even notice when Himari snuck up behind him and drove her boot into the back of his head.

"You were right." she told Shinji as she pulled the shotgun from the hands of the unconscious lout. "Enough is enough. It's time we fought back." Shinji nodded as she followed his guardian through the streets, sticking to the shadows so they could get the drop on Itachi's thugs. "Just make sure you follow my instructions alright?" Himari whispered as they came upon a second group of hoodlums. The two were on them in a flash. Shinji snuck up behind them and took out two thugs with a double running lariet, and Himari moved in while the rest were distracted, knocking out a couple with the butt of her shotgun before thrusting the barrel in the last man's face. "Down on the ground!" she hissed. The man dropped to his knees, only to take a boot to the face, rendering him unconscious.

A bunch of the townsfolk heard the commotion outside and came to investigate. "What's going on?" one of them asked Himari. "We've had enough of Itachi and his goons pushing us around." she told them, "Kenji and I are gonna send them back where they came from." The people looked terrified. "Have you two gone nuts!?" they yelled, "We can't hope to fight them, they're armed!" "So are we." Himari said. "And i'm bulletproof." Shinji added. The townsfolk all scoffed at his remark. A bulletproof teenager? The idea was preposterous. It was then that Shinji caught sight of a lone gunman, hiding in the alleyway and aiming a rifle at him. "Watch," he said, turning to face the gunman, "I'll show you."

Shinji did his best to stay calm as the goon lined his sights up with his head. He knew what he was doing was unbelievably stupid and he didn't know if he could summon his A.T Field again. But if he could pull it off, he could get the whole town on his side. It was then that he heard Zeruel's voice in his head again. " **Remain calm,** " it said, " **Just focus on protecting yourself, and the A.T Field will manifest for you.** " Shinji took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and prepared himself for what was coming. He focused all his thoughts on keeping himself alive, on believing that the bullet would be stopped before it hit him.

The young man winced as he heard the gun fire. He braced himself for the ppain of the bullet piercing his flesh but it never came. Instead, he heard a brief, electrical sound and a loud ping as the bullet bounced off his A.T Field. He opened his eyes again to see the rifleman staring back at him, his face a mixture of confusion and fear. Filled with newfound confidence, Shinji marched towards the gunman, reflecting ever shot the man fired at him until they stood face to face. With his attacker's morale shattered, Shinji calmly took the gun from hjs hands and swung it like a bat, striking the man across the head.

Shinji made his wayback to Himari with just the hint of a smile on his face. He'd never enjoyed fighting but he couldn't help but feel a little twinge of pride at what he'd done. "We're going on ahead." Himari told the townsfolk, "We could use some help but we won't judge you if you'd rather stay indoors." "We'll come with you." one of them said, taking the rifle from Shinji. "You can't drive them out on your own." Himari smiled as she took point, leading her fellow men through the slums of Elysium and ousting Itachi's men wherever they found them. Shinji would go in first, using his A.T Field and superhuman strength to take out anyone with a firearm, after which the others would move in and overwhelm Itachi's men with superior numbers. With each encounter they'd take the guns from Itachi's goons and add more and more civilians to their ranks.

But then , they came to the center of town and Shinji saw something that drove him mad. Ren, the girl from the scavenger group was standing alone against over a dozen of the mayors men. The girl fought as hard as she possibly could but she was vastly outnumbered and it wasn't long bdfore she was pulled down and violently beaten. Even though he'd only known her for a day, Shinji couldn't bear to let one of his friends get hurt and, without thinking, he charged headlong into them. "What are you doing!?" Himari yelled as her adopted son pulled the men off of his friend, swinging his fists at them like a man possessed. " **This is not the smartest move.** " Zeruel said as it's host stood between Ren and the Mayor's thugs, striking everyone who came near them with all his might. 'I know!' Shinji replied, "But I'm not letting them hurt Ren anymore." " **So be it.** " the Angel said, " **At least this will give us the opportunity to test the limits of our abilities.** "

A group of six men attempted to overwhelm Shinji but he barreled into them, shoulder first and send five of them flying. The sixth grabbed Shinji's shirt as he fell, pulling the kid down with him. He raised his fist, ready to punch the boy in the face but Shinji threw the man off him. Driven by his anger, Shinji pounced on top of the thug and beat the tar out of him. He was so caught up in the action that he didn't even notice when the last of Itachi's men snuck up behind him with an assault rifle. " **Behind you!** "

Shinji turned around just in time to see the man pointing his rifle directly at him and summoned his A.T Field a split second before the bullets hit him. He ran at his attacker but his A.T Field only lasted for a second or two. He was about two meters away from the armed goon when the orange barrier dematerialized, leaving him completely vulnerable. All of a sudden, Shinji fell to his knees. Confused, he looked down to see his leg bleeding. Being shot was nothing like how they made it look in the movies. He didn't even feel the bullet at first, but as the suit reloaded his gun, a horrible burning feeling began to run up his leg. " **What are you doing? Get up and give that fool the beating of his life.** " 'How!?" Shinji thought, "Even if I could still run I'd never get close enough.' " **Launch yourself then!** " the Angel yelled, " **You have the strength to. Dig your feet into the ground and throw yourself at him!** "

And that's exactly what Shinji did. Doing his best to ignore the pain, he forced himself into a ready-to-run position, raised his good leg and drove his foot into the ground, launching him into the air just as the crook fired his rifle again. The first stream of bullets missed him completely, flying harmlessly into the dirt. Shocked by what he had just seen, the man aimed his gun upwards but it was too late. Shinji summoned his A.T Field again, blocking he hail of gunfire before slamming right into his attacker and knocking the gun out of his hands. Himari's heart was racing as she ran over to the boy, picked him up and carried him away from the battlefield.

"Shinji, what were you thinking?" she whispered as two of the townspeople saw to Ren while the rest of them took the weapons from Itachi's cronies and sent them back behind the wall. "I'm sorry." Shinji said, wincing in pain. "I just couldn't let them do that to Ren." Himari sighed as she took the boy to the hospital. "What are we going to do with you?"

"By the way," Shinji said as the door of the hospital swung open, "Where's Kaito been all this time?" He didn't have to wait long to get his answer as Himari carried him into the ward to be greeted by her husband, wearing a medical coat and looking over a clipboard. "Kaito, we have a couple of people who need seeing to." "Is it over?" Kaito said as he looked up from his notes. "It's a miracle we don't have more patients after what happened out-" He stopped as he saw the boy he'd cared for for the past two months, lying in his wifes arms with two bullet holes through his left leg. "What happened?" Shinji smiled weakly. "I kinda lost control back there." he said as he was laid down onto a single-person bed, "But, at least we won." Kaito shook his head as Ren was placed on a bed next to the boy. "I told you not to get involved." "I know," Shinji replied, "But I can't let them treat you this way." "Just get some rest," Kaito said, exasperated, "We'll talk about this in the morning."

As the doctors and nurses of the hospital dressed his wounds, he felt a soft hand gently hold his own. "It's ok Kenji," Ren said, smiling warmly at him, "I think you're a hero."

* * *

Ginjiro Itachi was sitting in his office, enjoying a glass of whiskey on the rocks when Hiroki burst into the room. His face was bleeding and his suit was stained with dirt as he limped over to the desk. "Alright," Itachi said, somewhat bemused, "Would you like to explain to me how fifty men with guns got their asses kicked by some underage brat and a pack of dirt farmers?" Hiroki barely restrained himself. His day had been bad enough without having to take shit from his boss.

"I don't know alright?" he said, "I swear to God, I shot that kid in the head. It was practically point blank! But it did nothing! The next thing I know, I'm lying face down in front of the city gates and those fricking rats have all our guns!" Itachi sighed as he gazed into his glass of booze, lost in thought. "This kid is gonna be a nightmare..." he said as the gears in his brain began to shift, "We'll need to change the way we do things if we don't want him messing in our business." "I say we send in every last one of our men!" Hiroki growled, thirsty for blood. "Bring all our most advanced weaponry and kill as many people as it takes for them to learn their place!" "No." Itachi said calmly, "That would be a waste of labor and resources." A sly grin spread across the Mayor's face as he spoke.

"Besides, I have a better idea."

* * *

Next Episode: Hostility Restrained


	9. Episode 9: Hostility Restrained

A/N: This was a difficult chapter for me to write because for most of the week, I wasn't sure what I was going to write. I knew where the story was going to go but not what to put in this specific chapter. I hope that, despite my trouble with chapter 9, I've come up with something enjoyable.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 9

Hostility Restrained

* * *

The next few weeks moved painfully slowly for Shinji. It was fortunate the bullets had gone clean through his leg, missing any bones or arteries, or else he could have spent months in the clinic. As it was, the boy would spend about a month and a half under medical care. His time in the clinic was often mind numbingly boring or worse, outright painful, but it was made a lot more bearable by the presence of his roommate, Ren. She was, in short, a nice girl; she was willing to listen to him but she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and, despite only being a scout for the past couple years, was always full of stories. Her favorite was about her first encounter with a Shrieker.

"First time I saw one of those things I thought it was some kinda zombie." she told him one night, long after lights out, "Thing came running at me like it had a motor engine up it's ass!" They shared a laugh at that. True, Shinji didn't know her very well but still, he'd never expected her to be so crass. "So then what happened?" "Himari managed to cut it's arm off." Ren told him, "We killed it, but not before it set off it's beacon. The two of us found refuge in a nearby cave system, before the Saucer got to us." Saucer, she'd told him, was the name the gave to the Type A Nemesis series, due to their resemblance to UFOs. "We didn't arrive back for three whole days after that; we didn't want to lead them to Elysium. Himari got when hell of an earful when we made it back to the city. Kaito thought she'd gotten herself killed or something. They were yelling at each other all the way home." Shinji rolled over on his bed. "I can't imagine either of them shouting at anyone." he said. "Oh yeah, they worry about each other all the time." Ren said as she turned to face him, "Especially Kaito. He spent the next couple weeks trying to stop her from going on scout missions. He only gave in after she threatened to leave him." Shinji kept quiet. The two of them fighting like that, especially when they seemed so happy together, it was unfathomable.

"What about you?" she asked him, "You got any stories?" "Well, yeah..." Shinji said, staring up at the ceiling. "But?" "Well, I mean there not really the kind of things I like to talk about." Ren smiled sadly at him. "Sounds like you've had a pretty rough life." "Yeah..." Shinji said, "I feel like most of the people in my life abandoned me. Mom died, Dad left me very early on, and my friends..." He looked over to see Ren, staring at him expectantly. "Well, it's complicated." The young woman reached out to take his hand, but Shinji pulled it away. "What were they like, your friends?" The boy sighed as he stared up at the rusty metal ceiling. "They were good people." he said, "I mean, they weren't always nice but, they kept me company when I was lonely, and they helped me get through some of the worst moments in my life." Shinji felt the tears begin to well in his eyes, and rolled over until he was facing away from Ren. "But then, I made a mistake." he said, crying into his pillow, "And they all turned on me, treated me like I was some kind of monster, all because of an accident." His fingers dug into the mattress, pulling at the material as he remembered all the things they said to him. 'You do nothing.' 'It's none of your business.' 'You really are a brat.' "It's not that I think they're bad people because of it but I... but I... oh hell, I don't know..." He pulled the covers over his head, trying to hide himself from the cruel world.

Ren let him be for a while. She was used to the pain of loss, as was everyone around her age, and she knew it was best to let him calm down a little and heal on his own. But, there was one other question that had been bothering her ever since their expedition together. "Kenji," She said, as she laid her hand on his shoulder. "You're not like most people are you?" Shinji's mood darkened. "What are you talking about?" he replied, "I'm a normal human boy." It was a terrible lie, and they both knew it. "Most people I know can't throw a guy twice their size, or block a bullet." Shinji kept his mouth shut. If he just held his ground she'd probably drop the question, but not forever. "It's ok Kenji." she told him, "I'll understand if you don't wanna talk about it."

"My parents were scientists," He began "They were working at NERV, back before Third Impact. My Mom wanted to turn me into some kind of weapon, but I never found out why. My Dad came back into my life some time later, but it turns out he only wanted to use me." A horrible chill ran through Shinji's body as he spoke those words. He'd known his parents had been using him ever since that one evening with Dr Fuyutsuki. But having to accept that been nothing but a tool to them, it hurt him terribly. "After I gave up on Dad, my friends took me in and... well I've already told you that part of the story." He began to huff loudly as the tears poured from his eyes. He couldn't bear to hold his feelings back anymore. "Your friends were wrong about you Kenji." Ren whispered, rubbing his shoulder gently, "You're not a monster. You're just an unlucky boy who can do incredible things. If you hadn't stepped in yesterday, Itachi's men might have killed us all." She smiled warmly as she turned the boy to face her. "And you're not a weapon either. You weren't meant to hurt people, you were meant to help people." The boy sniffled pathetically as he wiped the tears from his bloodshot eyes. "You really think so?" "I know so."

* * *

Misato Katsuragi woke up in a cold sweat in the early hours of the morning. She'd been having trouble sleeping for the past few years; bad dreams came easily to people who'd experienced the things she had. But by this point, she thought she'd gotten used to them. Recently hpwever, her dreams had started to change. This time, she had dreamed about Shinji.

She had been standing in the ruins of Tokyo 3, on the roof of the very same building she had stayed in during her time with NERV. Far below her, on the streets of the ruined city, she saw a lone figure, running for their life. Without thinking, she clambered down the side of he building. In the reflections of the skyscrapers broken windows, she saw the same, kind, bright-eyed Misato of her youth staring back at her. Finally, she reached the ground. She stepped close to her target until she was close enough to tell he was a teenage boy but not enough to recognise him. The boy fell to the ground, exhausted by running for god knows how long. She tried to approach him quietly, not wanting to startle him, but he heard her approaching, and he ran from her, as if she was some kind of monster. She followed after him, until they reached the edge of a cliff; a horrid, unnatural gash in the earth, lined by what looked disturbingly like human teeth. "Please wait!" she yelled as the boy stared down into the abyss. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

He turned to face her, and at last Misato recognized the boy she'd been chasing. "Misato?" His blue eyes glistened as he stepped away from the cliff, towards the woman who, at one point, might have been proud to call him her son. "Please..." he said, "Help me. I don't know what's happening, I've never felt so lost or afraid." "Shinji, I-" Before she could finish, he ran at her. Tears streamed from his eyes as he threw her arms around her and, for just a moment, Misato felt like all was right with the world again.

Then, there was a terrible, crushing pain around her midsection and the sound of bones crunching rang in her ears as Shinji squeezed her, desperate to feel the comfort of her embrace again. Misato fell to the ground, immobile and gasping for air as the boy looked on in horror. "M- Misato? Oh God... What have I done? Please, I didn't mean to. I- I can fix this just please don't..." Shinji froze in fear as he sensed someone behind him. A dour, bearded figure in a black jacket and orange shades grabbed hold of the boy and threw him off the cliff, into the void. His screams echoed across the fallen city as Gendo Ikari held the boy's white t-shirt in his hand, grinning sadistically. Misato blinked and just like that, Ikari was gone. In his place stood another Misato Katsuragi, one who was old and bitter, and filled with vengeful anger.

"Don't mourn for him." the older Misato said as blood seeped from the shirt and onto her white gloves. "You declared him dead a long time ago."

And then she woke up.

* * *

Shinji winced in pain as the soccer ball connected with his leg. His bullet wounds were more or less healed by this point, but they were still very sensitive. "Sorry!" Aki yelled, as the ball rolled back in her direction. Shinji had promised to help her practice and was playing the goalie while she kicked the ball at a white rectangle, which she'd painted onto the city wall. "You know," Shinji said, nursing his leg, "I'm not much of a sports person but I'm pretty sure there's more to soccer than doing penalty kicks." "Yeah, I know," Aki said, "But I need to work on scoring goals. Besides, if we were on a team, you'd just kick me over." "No I wouldn't!" Shinji whined, blocking the ball with his hand, "Even I'm not that clumsy."

Aki giggled as Shinji did his best to block shot after shot, each time sending it right back in her direction. He'd told her several times that the goal was too small, but she didn't mind. As far as she was concerned, that would just make her better when she finally scored a goal. "How's Ren doing?" she asked him as the ball bounced off the city wall, inches away from the goal. "She's getting better." Shinji said, "It'll still be a few days before she's out of the hospital though. I may have taken a couple bullets to the leg but those bas- men, beat her horribly. I'm surprised she took it so well really. She's a tough girl." Aki grinned mischievously. "You like her don't you~" she teased. "What? No!" Shinji said, defensively, "I mean, not like that..."

" **You do seem to have a fondness for strong females.** " Zeruel said as the ball bounced off Shinji's elbow. 'So?' the boy replied, 'Doesn't mean I'm into her.' " **No,** " the Angel said, " **But I've noticed some familiar emotions when you are around her, similar to what you feel for the red-haired Lilin.** " Shinji swore he heard a hint of mockery in the Angels usually stoic voice. " **Are you sure you don't mean to mate with her?** " Shinji gritted his teeth. He barely put up with Himari's teasing, he would not take it from Zeruel. 'First of all, yes I'm sure.' he said, in his mind, 'Second, don't talk about mating with people again unless you want me to-' "Ow!"

Pain blinded Shinji for a moment as the ball connected with his nose. The soccer ball rolled to his side as he fell back on his ass, clutching at his face. "That was on purpose!" He yelled as he pulled himself to his feet. "Might have been." Aki replied cheekily. The Angel seemed amused. " **Perhaps I should have chosen her as my vessel.** " it said. 'Just shut up for once will you?'

Then, just as Aki was about to take another shot, Shinji heard the low roar of a motor engine. He'd been in Elysium long enough to know what that meant by now. The mayor's goons had left the slums alone since his last fight, not even coming into town for their monthly crop collection, but now it looked like they were ready for a third round. "Aki," Shinji said, go home quickly and don't let them see you. This looks like trouble." Aki made no attempt to hide her concern. "Will you be alright?" "I'll be fine." he told her. He had been practicing summoning his A.T Field ever since the day of the raid. It had been difficult, without a training partner to test the barrier, but by now he figured he could manifest it for a couple seconds longer than before.

As the child ran back to her parents house, the vehicles drove into town, a pair of black vans, flanking a long black limousine. He couldn't think why they'd bring a limo to a battle, but it made no difference to him. "If you don't want me to send you to the garage," he said, stepping out in front of the cars as they screeched to a halt, "Turn around and go back to where you came from!" It was a weak threat at best, but it was the best he could think of on the fly. The door to the limousine flew open, and out stepped a middle aged man, wearing a gaudy suit with his hair slicked back. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of opaque shades and a fake, cheesy grin spread across his wrinkled face.

"You must be Kenji." Mayor Itachi said as he stepped closer, his hand outstretched. "Let's have a talk huh? I've got a proposition for you.


	10. Episode 10: Have A Cigar

A/N: Yes I'm back (finally). I just want to say sorry to you guys for my long absence. I had initially planned to write Episode 10 as sooń as I recovered from my illness but fell victim to something worse, a terrible habit of procrastination. I kept telling myself I'd have it out by Christmas, then by New Year and so on. Anyways, I hope it was worth the wait. I'll do my best to post new chapters as a reasonable rate but from now on I'm no longer giving an eta on when they'll comeout, both to avoid disappointing readers and tomkeep from making a fool of myself. Thank you to my fans for staying with me through all this. Hope you all enjoy Episode 10

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 10

Have A Cigar

* * *

Itachi grinned at Shinji as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. It was a practiced kind of smile, the kind you might see a politician give. "Drink?" Shinji stared at the dirty orange liquid as it sloshed around in the shot glass. He'd never really been interested in alcohol, having witnessed the aftermath of a few of Misato's benders, and the whiskey smelled horrible, like something you'd find lying around a factory. "I'm fourteen." he said, trying to mind his manners. He didn't think he'd like anything the Mayor had to say but he wasn't going to throw away a chance for peace before hearing the man out. "Suit yourself." Itachi said, taking a sip of the amber liquid. "All the more for me." A pair of armed guards stood beside them, with a second pair guarding the door of the slums Meeting Hall where the Mayor had brought him. Shinji had refused to meet behind the city walls. He'd need to know he could get out after all.

"So," the Mayor said, staring at Shinji behind his aviators, "I'm gonna cut right to the point kid: this city right here, this is my life's work. When everything went to shit, I pulled these people out of it. I gave them a place to live like normal people, when the only other option's were to fight or starve. Ever since that day, fourteen years ago, Elysium has been the only place on Earth where people can really be safe and happy." Shinji repressed a chuckle. 'A few of them, maybe,' he thought. "All I ask in return is a fair share of the crops to help feed the men and women who live behind my walls." The Mayor's smile faded as he set his glass back on the table. "Now all of a sudden I find my men have been coming back empty handed, covered in bruises, and telling me crazy stories of some kid who can block bullets. My monthly intake of fruit and veg disappears and the city's food supply quickly starts to run out." Shinji just stared back at him. "Tell me kid," he said, "You ever heard of a little concept called 'Bread and Circuses'?" The boy shook his head. "Didn't think so." Itachi said, chuckling." "Way too young to remember something like that. It's this idea that people will take whatever ya throw at em, as long as you keep em fed, and you keep em distracted. Now the people here on the outside, they obey because they need me. But the folks behind the walls well, I gotta keep em happy if I wanna stay where I am."

Even with his eyes hidden, Shinji could tell the man was glaring at him through his sunglasses. "So, when I find out I can't feed the people in the city, and the folks in the slums are starting to feel like they don't need me anymore, let's just say it makes me a little... upset." Shinji looked to the guards either side of him, and shrugged. "If you're here to kill me," he said, "You'll need to do better than this." He felt a bead of sweat run down his brow as he spoke. He was trying his best to act tough but he doubted he could take four armed men at once, not with two of them flanking him. Itachi began to laugh. "I don't wanna kill you!" he said, prompting his goons to laugh along with him, "No no no. You see where most men see a threat, I see opportunities." In the dim light of the Meeting Hall, Itachi's face made him look a rat who'd found himself an especially large hunk of cheese. "I want you to work for me."

Shinji couldn't stop himself from scoffing. "Work for you? You're joking right?" Itachi forced a chuckle in response. "Come on kid, let's be honest, you don't really wanna spend the rest of your life slaving away on some farm, living in the slums like some loser. You got a real special gift there kid. And some people will pay good money for that." "People like you?" The Mayor choked on his whiskey as he laughed. "You catch on fast kid!" he said, "You help me keep Elysium under control, and I'll make you into a big shot. Not a bad deal am I right?" Shinji shook his head. "I'm sorry Mr Mayor but I don't really want to be a big shot. I'm happy just where I am. I have a friends here, and a family." He looked to the guards eiher side of him once again. "And honestly, if I work for you, I don't trust you to treat them right. Have a nice day." He stood up, and quietly made his way to the door.

He stopped sharply as the guards pointed their rifles at his face. "What if I can take care of that too?" Itachi yelled, motioning his men to put down their guns, for the moment, "You think they don't dream of something better than what they got? I can make it so they never have to worry about food or water again. They'll never want for anything ever again." Shinji thought about it. It did sound tempting. The Hamasakis did their best with what they had but he knew they were struggling. They gave so much to him and the folk outside the wall with little to show for it. This way, he'd have a chance to really give something back to them. But could he really do that? What about Ren, and Mr Clarke and the rest of the people on the farm? "Or..." Itachi said, "I could make things a lot harder for the people you love."

There was a small hole in the front door, and through it Shinji could see the townsfolk, waiting to see him, with over a dozen armed guards keeping them from him. He turned back to face the Mayor. He was smiling again, only this time he wasn't forcing it. It was a smug, malicious smile of someone who had their enemy in a trap. "So what do you say kid?" he said, extending his hand, "Do we have a deal?"

 **"On my mark."** Zeruel said. **"Not one moment sooner or later..."**

Outside, the people of Elysium heard a commotion coming from inside the Meeting Hall. Two dents, roughly the size of a melon, suddenly appeared on either side of the door and the sound of a man screaming echoed off the rusty metal walls as Shinji grabbed hold of Itachi and flung him at one of the two remaining henchmen. The last one opened fire on the boy, but Shinji's practice with his A.T. Field had paid off and the barrier held up just long enough for him to ram the table into the guard's stomach, leaving him open to a swift strike to the head. Itachi ran for the door but Shinji sprung towards him, slamming into the man and snapping the old steel panel right off it's hinges. The two of them tumbled out onto the cold, red sand. The guardsmen, distracted by the noise, pointed their guns away from the townsfolk and took aim at Shinji. A spray of gunfire flew in his direction but his A.T Field blocked them with ease. "Behind you!" a voice yelled, and Shinji turned around just in time to block a burst of gunfire from behind. "D- drop them!" He yelled, his voice cracking with fear as he grabbed the Mayor by the collar and raised his fist in the air. "Or I'll kill him before your bullets even touch me!"

The words sounded so strange to Shinji. He'd gotten angry before, yelled at people, hit them, even threatened to wreck NERV HQ once. But he'd never threatened to outright kill someone before. He stared down at the man in his grasp, that air of smugness and superiority stripped away, and felt his short, panicked breathing against his skin. The boy's heart was racing, from the fear of being shot, the hope of victory and the pride at having the cause of all his friends' problems at his mercy. He'd never felt so powerful and vulnerable at the same time. He couldn't deny it, it was a rush unlike any other.

He didn't know how long he stood there, his fist ready to pulverize the Mayor at a moments notice. Time seemed to move in slow motion, tkcking forward once every hour as he held Itachi to the ground, praying the guards wouldn't call his bluff. But, was he really bluffing? Did he actually have it in him to take a life, of his own free will?

Itachi's breathing slowed, and his terrified expression twisted into a nervous smile as he slowly put his hands up. "Nothing to worry about boys." he said cheerfully, "Just a harmless little joke between us guys!" His thugs lowered their guns, but never broke eye contact with Shinji. The kid took a deep breath, and let go of Itachi. "Pleasure meeting with you Kenji." He said, straightening his tie as best he could. "We should do this again sometime." The boy stepped closer, only stopping when the suits trained their guns on him again. "I don't want to see you, our your men around here anymore." he said quietly. "Leave. My friends. Alone. Or else." The Mayor just shrugged casually. "As you wish kid." He said, limping back towards the van that had taken him here. "You stay outta my way, I'll stay outta yours..." He flashed the boy a cold grin as the door slammed shut, and the vehicle sped away.

* * *

Asuka Shikinami rolled over in her bed, her brow dripping with sweat as she turned to look at her alarm clock. 3AM; too early to leave her quarters but too late to get to sleep. She'd long gotten used to the military's sleep pattern even before the Third Impact. But now, for the first time in years, she couldn't find it in her to get to sleep. The last time that happened was fourteen years ago: that night she'd come into his room and laid beside him. She pulled herself out of bed, shaking herself awake. She couldn't just lie in bed until 06:00, she had to find something to do. She went to her desk. She'd left her doll back in Tokyo 3 but her Wonderswan still sat there, just the same as it was fourteen years ago.

She turned it on and booted up Pocket Fighter. She'd played it so many times she could pretty much crush any opponent but it kept her distracted, at least for a while. But as the minutes ticked by, and the gameplay slowly became monotonous , she found she just couldn't focus anymore. Just when she thought she could finally relax again she kept seeing that emotionless, broken face flash before her eyes. 'Dammit Asuka!' She thought as she slammed her head back against her pillow. 'What the hell is wrong with you? You barely knew him! He was just some stupid kid! You've seen people die that you knew for years and cared less!'

And then, she heard a second voice in her head. _"You know why."_ it said. It sounded nearly identical to Asuka, but childish and mocking. "What are you doing? In my head?" Asuka demanded. "I thought you were gone!" _"Silly child. You can never get rid of me. Only block me out. You know it was only a matter of time before I found my way back in."_ Asuka put her hands over her ears as it tormented her. She knew it wouldn't work, but some juvenile instinct drove her to do it. "I can always shut you out again. And I am not a child." _"Oh yes you think just because a few years have past that you've really changed? You may have made a few, insignificant adjustments but deep down you're still the same lost, scared little girl you were when we first met, Asuka Langley-"_ "Shut up!" It giggled at her. It was a cruel giggle, like the kind you might hear a mean-spirited child make while watching a teacher humiliate an underachiever. _"Poor little Asuka. So lost and alone~ So desperate to be loved she jumped into the bed of the first boy who put up with her!"_ "I said shut up!" It refused to stop. _"So afraid she hung onto the pathetic little waste of space, when she should have just killed him. Just so she had someone to feel superior to!"_ "STOP IT!""

And then, silence. No voice in her head, mocking her relentlessly. Just her, alone. She chuckled a little in relief. She'd probably just woken up half the ship with her screaming. She glanced at the phone in the corner of the room. It had a direct line to the Captain and Vice Commander. No. It was too early in the morning. They'd tear her apart for calling at this hour, Akagi had enough to deal with managing the Ayanami Type, she could be quarantined for months, maybe years while the war raged on around her and besides, she was fine! It was just a brief auditory hallucination brought on by a fleeting moment of guilt, that's all it was.

She tucked herself back into bed, closed her eyes, and did her best to forget about the whole thing. She then immediately got up, and picked up the phone.

"Hello, Doctor Akagi?" she said, "I need to speak to you, now..."


	11. Running Up That Hill

**A/N** **:** When I started writing this chapter I didn't intend for it to be nearly as long as it turned out, but at the same time I didn't want it to be just about the story about the AAA Wunder. And I'm glad I could put out my longest installment to date as I always felt chaoter length wasmone of my biggest weaknesses as a writer.

Also, I want to quickly answer a question from one of my followers, who wanted to know if the line last chapter: about Asuka "jumping into Shinji's bed" was a reference to that scene from 2.0 or an implication that she had slept with him at some point. I can confirm that the voice in her head was referencing the bedroom scene from You Can (Not) Advance, but also accusing her of wanting to sleep with Shinji, in order to mess with her. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask away and I will do my best to answerr them in the Authors Notes, next chapter.

Fun Fact: I chose to name this chapter after the Kate Bush song of the same name, as I felt it connected a lot to Shinji and Asuka's relationship post 3.0.

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 11

Running Up That Hill

* * *

It was a warm Christmas Evening in Tokyo 3. There was no snow on the ground; the Second Impact had shifted the planet's climate dramatically, leaving it in an endless summer. Asuka Shikinami lay stretched out on the sofa, playing on her Wonderswan as the sweet smell of home cooking wafted in from the kitchen. Misato sat at the table, gazing listlessly at her laptop screen. Officially, she'd been given the evening off of work but she was still obligated to watch out for reports from NERV HQ. Angels didn't take the night off for Christmas after all, the irony of which was not lost on her. In the corner of the room sat a small pile of presents. Ordinarily the children were too old to receive gifts but Misato had made an exception to accommodate Asuka's traditions.

There was the sound of footsteps as Shinji Ikari stepped into the room, with a smile on his face and a plate of fried chicken in each hand. Asuka had heard that fried chicken was the traditional Christmas Meal in Japan, going back to the late 20th century, though the originator had disappeared in the aftermath of Second Impact and the recipe had changed over the years (apparently the old method didn't work well with artificial meat). "Well well," Misato said, tearing her eyes away from her computer for just a moment, "I think you've outdone yourself Shinji." "Thank you..." The boy said, blushing lightly, "But really it's nothing special. Asuka rolled her eyes. His insistence on being humbke in all things straddled the line between beiny irritating and endearing. She had to admit though, dinner was really good, even for Shinji. "Man that was good~" Misato said, swigging down a can of Yebisu, "And it goes great with a nice, cold beer..." Shinji chuckled at that. "I'll have to take your word for it."

Later that night they opened presents. Shinji received a few volumes of some popular Manga, a cookbook and a new tape for his SDAT Player while Asuka was given a couple of Wonderswan games and some cosmetics. "Oh, Asuka?" Shinji said when they were done, "I hope you don't mind but I kind of got you something too..." He handed her a small package containing a cute red hairclip, shaped like a cat's head. How did he even knowmshe liked cats? "Umm, thanks..." She said, a little confused. She knew they were doing things a little differently when it came to presents, but she also knew what it meant when a boy his age gave a girl a Christmas gift. He couldn't be...

"Oh it's no problem." he replied. "Um, Asuka?" the boy said. "I was wonder if, tonight, you'd like to go- go out somewhere? Tonight? Maybe?" Oh God he was... The boy's cheeks turned red as he waited for her answer with baited breath. He looked like he was going to pass out if she didn't answer him soon. "Uh, I guess..." She said, trying to avoid eye contact as she felt her heart pounding. "But you're paying for everything..." He smiled meekly. "That's ok with me. I heard a new arcade opened last month. We could go there for a while, you know, if you want..." She let herself smile for a moment. "I'd like that.

"Um, hold that thought you two..." Misato said, typing away on her computer, a look of concern on her face. "We've got reports of an Angel approaching the city. You lovebirds will have to save it for tomorrow." Asuka felt a brief twinge of disappointment, followed by a burst of excitement. After all, killing Angels was what the Second Child was born for. What more could she ask for in a date? "Well," she shrugged, "If fighting an Angel means we have to put our date back for a day, I guess we'll just have to make that sacrifice. You ready, Stupid Shinji?" "Y- yeah..." he told her, sounding more than a little bit nervous.

Before they knew it, the two pilots were sat in their entry plugs, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their target as the elevator carried their Units up towards the streets of Tokyo 3. "Target is expected to arrive in T-minus 350 and counting. Asuka cracked her knuckles as she prepared for one hell of a battle. Itwas moments like these when she truly felt alive. Some wouldmhave called her mad for that but as far as she was concerned they could keep their "peace" and their "safety". Dashing between skyscrapers, crushing her enemy and always staying one step ahead of death, that was what it meant to live. And wuth Shinji by her side, she felt more alive than ever. "Target is almost on top of you." Ibuki said as the exit began to slide open. "Arriving in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Eva Unit 02 shot up onto the streets of Tokyo 3, the doors closing beneath it and Asuka surveyed the area to find the city was...

Empty.

There was no Angel, no helicopter wrecks littering the area, not even the faintest hint of battle. The entire city was completely silent. What was going on? Was it a false alarm? A trap? A false report sent to throw them off? "I don't get it." Asuka said, "Where the hell's the enemy?" And then, she heard Shinji's voice.

"What are you talking about?" he said, eerily calm, "I'm right here."

She turned around just in time to see Eva 01's fist smash into her Unit 02's face, sending it tumbling to the ground. She barely had time to react before Shinji's Eva slammed it's foot into her chest, stamping Unit 02 into the ground until a crater began to form around it. She raised her fist to strike back but Unit 01 caught her arm, it's eyes glowing blue as it ripped off her Eva's red arm. An ear-splitting chriek echoed through her entry plug as she fell back against her seat. The girl made one last desperate attempt to pull herself back up, only to find herself pinned to the ground, as Unit 01's mouth split wide open and it's red fangs sunk into her neck.

Unit 02 was left on the road, it's body broken and paralyzed as Eva 01 stood over it. Tears streaked from the female pilot's eyes as she lay inside the entry plug, lost, afraid, and dying. "Why?" She croaked as she felt the stinging pain flow through her entire body. "Why would you do this to me Shinji?" Unit 01 spoke to her, but not with Shinji's voice; this was the voice of a malicious young woman. _"Foolish Lilin"_ It said, tilting it's head quizically as it gazed into Unit 02's eyes. _"Why would the male want you, when he had her?"_ It's body twisted and morphed, until the metal titan took the form of enormous Rei Ayanami. Her sexual organs were missing, and her body was smooth and shiny like porcelain. _"He already has his pretty little doll, his quiet little toy that would do anything he asked of her. The most you could hope to be is a replacement."_

The entry plug turned a deep, crystalline red and a glowing blue figure approached the pilot of Unit 02. It was humanoid in shape and, although it had few distinguishing features, Asuka could tell it was supposed to resemble her. The girl's memories came flooding back as it cuppednher face in it's hands. Unit 03, the Angel attack, being ripped apart by Unit 01. She remembered everything. You... you're an Angel! A smile formed on it's face. _"Indeed I am."_ it said. _"And whether you believe it or not, I'm also your only friend."_ "What are you talking about!?" Asuka demanded, trying to back away from the creature, "You tried to kill my friends!"

 _"They aren't your friends anymore."_ The Angel said as it chased the girl. _"You are one with me now. From this point on they will see you only as an enemy. The boy you loved, the woman who took you in, whatever they felt for you before will mean nothing now."_ It's voice sounded almost pitying. "It's not true!" _"It is."_ The 9th Angel said. _"The Lilin are foolish, frightened creatures. No matter what you may believe, they can never truly love you. But it doesn't have to be that way..."_

Asuka's eyes widened as the invader in her mind took on a more complex form: a beautiful, slender young woman with flowing blonde hair. "Mama?" Kyoko Shikinami reached forward, embracing Asuka like a child. _"I can give you everything you've ever desired."_ She said, as the red crystal walls gave way, showing Asuka a vision of he world she desired. It was the house in Germany she grew up in, just as she remembered it in her early years, back before everything went wrong. Shinji sat with her on the couch, cuddling up with the girl while Misato and Kyoko watched over them. _"Join with me and my kind,"_ Kyoko said, _"And together we will create a new world: one where they will love and understand you for what you are, a world without pain, fear, death or sadness, where you can truly be at peace."_

Asuka was entranced as she gazed into the world the Angel offered her. It was true, she had long desired something like this; a world where people saw her and accepted her for who she really was, where her Mother was still alive, where she had the people she cared for all to herself. _"J_ _ust close your eyes, and when you wake up, you'll be in paradise."_ Her eyes felt heavy. She could feel a strange warmth on her back as two wings of blue light sprouted from her shoulder blades. Her eyes had almost closed when she heard a familiar voice. "Asuka can you hear me?" It said. "Please wake up. We need you. I need you..."

She recognized the voice instantly. "Misato?" She felt her strength return to her as her eyes flittered open. The false Kyoko yelled in surprise as the girl threw her off. _"You will always be alone Lilin."_ the Angel said as Asuka frantically ran her hands along the walls desperate to find the door. _"They will never truly understand you. They may try, but eventually they will give up on you. Or, they'll discard you when you're no longer of use to them."_ Asuka ignored it. Instead she grabbed at the walls, hoping that sooner or leter she'd find the door handle. And as luck would have it, she did. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the steel door creaked open and she left the horrible nightmare, and returned to the waking world.

"Asuka..." Misato said as the girl opened her eyes to see the Colonel smiling down at her, "Welcome back."

Asuka spent the next couple of weeks under 24 hour supervision in a secret facility in China. They had managed to isolate the 9th Angel in her left eye, restraining it with an eyepatch covered in anti-angelic runes. But in spite of this, Ritsuko had insisted on anumber of tests, to ensure that she was as free from Angelic corruption as possible. If the creature in her mind managed to take control of her then the entire human race would be in jeopardy. During her time in the facility, Misato explained the events that had transpired in the past few months. She told her about the aftermath of the Unit 03 incident, how Shinji had fought his way to the Geofront and tried to destroy NERV Headquarters, the attack of the 10th Angel, Rei being consumed by it, and Shinji awakening his Eva to save her, setting off Third Impact in the process.

The rest was a little muddy. The world was still dealing with the fallout from Unit 01's awakening and there were a lot of details that they weren't privy to. It turned out that Commander Ikari was involved with a secret organization called SEELE, a group that Kaji had been investigating at the behest of the United Nations. Apparently, SEELE had been trying to bring about the Third Impact on their own terms, though they couldn't imagine why. With the world population cut down from ten million to a few thousand within a single night, the UN remnants had the entire staff of NERV was placed under international arrest and sent to a special tribunal for conspiring to commit mass genocide. Unfortunately, Ikari and Fuyutsuki had no intention of going quietly and, with nowhere to run, they released a new series of artificial Angels that decimated any force that tried to capture them, leaving the rest of NERV to answer for their crimes. In the end, the court determined that the staff were ignorant of Gendo Ikari's true intentions, and Misato and the others were released. Since then, the worlds remaining governments had come together to form the New United Nations, and had been putting their minds together to try and solve the lack of vital resources and form a military strong enough to challenge NERV.

Asuka was still having trouble believing any of it. It was like she'd stepped out of one nightmare only to find herself in another, and it was hard to tell which was worse. "What about the others?" she asked when she'd had time to process everything she'd been told. "Where are Shinji and Rei?" Misato stared down at the floor. Her long hair covered her face but Asuka could tell she was upset. "They're gone." she admitted. "We don' know what happened to Rei after aeva 01 absorbed the 10th Angel. As for Shinji, we barely managed to get Unit 01 out of Tokyo 3 but the entry plug was empty, save for his plugsuit. We think his Synch Ratio reached such a high level that his body contain maintain it's physical form and, melted into LCL." Asuka felt her heart stop for just a moment. "So, he's dead?" Misato shook her head. '"We don't think so. Our scans detected... something inside the Eva's core that wasn't there before the Angel attack. We believe it's him, but we can't be sure. If it is, we have no way of getting him out."

Asuka felt her body turn cold, yet a small spark of hope still burned inside her. "So, what's the problem?" she said, a petulant tone in her voice, "We'll just hang onto Unit 01 until we have the tech to pull him out of there." Misato had a grim look on her face as she tried to explain the situation to her. "We can't do that Asuka." "Why!?" Asuka said, cutting her off, "You think I care what he did? He's still one of us!" There was a desperate anger in her voice as she spoke. Her whole body was shaking and she was finding it difficult just to stand up. "It's out of our hands now Asuka." The Colonel explained. "The UN has deemed both Eva Unit 01 and the Third Child a threat to humanity. In order to prevent another Impact from happening, they've elected to launch the Evangelion into space."

Asuka fell back into her seat. Her breathing was rough and tired and she felt sick, like her body was trying to physically reject everything she'd been told. "They can't do this!" she growled as she felt tears welling up. "This isn't fair, he did nothing wrong!" Misato placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Nothing about this is fair Asuka." she said, "But even if he didn't mean to, Shinji did cause all of this. I don't like this anymore than you do but we have to protect humanity, even if it means having to do things we don't like." She sighed as she turned away from the red haired girl, preparing to deliver the final piece of news.

"The UN are forming new organization, specifically to fight NERV's Eva Units, and the Nemesis Series. They're calling it WILLE. I was offered the chance to lead organization, and I've decided to accept." Asuka drove her foot into the ground, forcing herself to stand again. "You're gonna throw your lot in with them!?" she yelled, "After they treated you like a crook, after ehat they did to Shinji!?" Misato cal my and quietly tied her flowing hair up into a bun. "I don't like the idea of working for them either," she said, "But they are the best chance we have of stopping NERV and making sure we never have to see another Impact. These are dark days Asuka, darker than any we've ever seen before, and we don't have time to worry about one person anymore."

Asuka wanted to fire back at her, for siding with those who persecuted them, who had always done everything they could to get in their way, who wanted to banish the first boy she might have genuinely like from the goddamn planet but she just couldn't make the words come out. She didn't know if it was from anger, from exhaustion or from the terrible feeling that just maybe, Misato might have been right. Either way, she couldn't bring herself to fight her.

"We're currently working on repairing Unit 02," Misato said, "And we've found a prototype Evangelion in the ruins of an abandoned NERV lab in Iraq. The UN has recommended Makinami to pilot for us, Unit 02's pilot is up to me to decide. Asuka's hand balled into a fist. They'd already taken Unit 02 from her once. "Asuka, I want you to pilot for me again." Asuka's eyes widened in surprise. After being corrupted by the 9th Angel she didn't think they'd ever let her pilot another Eva. In spite of this, her first instinct was to refuse. After everything that happened, she didn't want anything to do with Evangelions anymore. Yet at the same time, the Eva's cock pit had been the only place she'd ever felt like she belonged.

"I'll do it." she said eventually, "But not for them. I'm only doing this so I can make NERV pay." For the first time since she'd woken up, Asuka saw a flash of that devil-may-care smile Misato had, back before everything went to hell. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

When Asuka saw Unit 01launched into space a few days later, tears stinging her eyes as she forced herself to watch, she thought she had lived through the worst day of her entire life.

If only she knew...

* * *

Asuka took a deep breath as the scanner hovered over her, searching for any signs of Angelic corruption. She was prepared for the worst. Ritsuk sat beside her, her eyes scanning over her computer screen while the Captain stood in the corner, waiting to hear the bad news. "Well, Doctor Akagi said, "It does indeed look like the corruption has begun to spread again. The good news is that we should be able to isolate it again." She took a long drag of her cigarette as she turned to face Asuka. "However, we have no guarantee this won't happen again, and I'm concerned we might see it spread sooner than before if it's grown strong enough to overpower the runes on your eyepatch." The Second Child asked her the obvious question: "How did it start to spread again anyway?" "That's a good question." Ritsuko said, returning to her computer. "I've been checking the data from every time you've piloted in the past few years, and I discovered the early signs of corruption during the battle with Unit 13." Asuka knew instantly what the Doctor was talking about. "When I activated Unit 02's Beast Mode." Ritsuko nodded quietly.

"You'll need to be kept under close observation." Misato explained, adjusting the visor of her hat so it covered her eyes. "And regularly scanned for signs of 'll still need you to pilot for us when the time comes but we can't risk the Angel taking over your body." "I fear that may not be enough Captain." Akagi chimed in. "We need to have a failsafe, in case the Angel possesses Asuka and we can't reach her." "I know what you're suggesting Ritsuko." Katsuragi snapped, "And the answer is no." Ritsuko snuffed out her cigarette as she turned to face her old friend. "I don't like doing this either, but we have to think of our crew and our mission. If the corruption spreads too far-" "I know what the risks are!" Misato yelled, "But I'm not doing that again. It was bad enough the first time but there's no way I'm doing it to Asuka."

The two of them argued for ages while Asuka sat there, stewing in her anger and frustration. It wasn't Ritsuko who was pissing her off right now, but the Captain. In the early years of the war she and Misato had perhaps been closer than ever. They had known each other for a little while before the Angel attacks fourteen years ago but after Third Impact she'd been the closing thing Asuka had to family in a very long time. But, as the years wore on and the war became more desperate and bloody, something changed about her. She began to grow distant from the rest of the crew, even her. On top of that, she gradually became more and more willing to sacrifice whatever she saw the need to, including human lives, to rip victory from the jaws of defeat. Some of them had been people she'd fought beside for years. The same words she had used to justify siding with the UN became her go to defense whenever she sacrificed a life for the sake of the mission. "We don't have time to worry about one person anymore."

So why now? Why did she choose now of all times to suddenly decide she had standards? "Just do it." she said, but Ritsuko and the Captain talked over her. "Do it!" The two women were too busy arguing to even hear her. Finally, Asuka had had enough. "JUST PUT THE DAMN CHOKER ON ME!" she screamed. That got their attention. Misato was stunned. "Asuka, you know what will happen if-" "Of course I know that!" Asuka snapped, "If the corruption spreads too far I'm a dead woman. But if that... thing takes control of my body then I'm as good as dead anyway." Misato stared right through the pilot of Unit 02. They may have drifted apart over time but she'd known the girl long enough to read her pretty well. "Asuka," she said, "If you're doing this out of guilt..." Asuka snorted inderision. "You think I'm going to put my life on the line because I'm weepy over some brat? It's been four months Captain, I'm over it!"

And so, despite Misato's protests, the DSS choker was fixed around Asuka's neck. She'd expected it to be tight and uncomfortable but, oddly enough, it fit quite comfortably around her neck. A horrible, sickly feeling washed over her. It felt like the whole world was on her shoulders.

As she passed the mess hall on the way back to her quarters, she overheard a conversation with the bridge staff. "I mean yeah, we both worked for NERV around the same time." Hyūga said, "But I wouldn't exactly say I knew him. " She already had an inkling of who they were talking about." Captain Katsuragi had made no secret of Shinji's demise. Knowing the Impact Trigger was no longer a risk to them would improve morale a little and give NERV pause, allowing WILLE time to finish their new Evangelion. People had mostly avoided talking about him over the past fourteen years but now that he had passed it seemed everyone had an opinion about him. Everybody knew the story by this point, though they each saw it a somewhat different way. For some people it was a story of a tragic hero, who turned away from humanity after losing everything in their name, to others it was a tale of how their Captain took in a lonely young man who would go on to betray her. A sad story of a kid thrown into a battle he could never win by his evil father, a cautionary tale about putting the fate of the world in the hands of a child and so on and so on.

"He seemed like an ok kid at the time." Shigeru said, through a mouthful of pumpkin katsu, "Kind of a downer but I guess I can't blame him." He shook his head as he thought back on "the good old days". "He never really wanted to be a pilot, and he could be a little self centred at times, but I never thought he'd do something like that, let alone twice." Kitakami had a look of disdain on her face as the conversation went on. Her home had been hit pretty hard by Third Impact. Most of her family had turned to core material right in front of her eyes and once the official story came out, she knew exactly who to blame. "They should never have let him in that thing in the first place. It's ridiculous putting the fate of the world in the hands of some immature kid who didn't even know what he was doing!" "Geez Midori," Tama scoffed, "That's a nice glass house you've built yourself..." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Sumire Nagara had stayed quiet for most of the conversation but even she had to throw her two cents in there. "However you felt about him, I think he had to die..." It wasn't an unpopular opinion aboard the Wunder but unlike with Kitakami, there was no malice in her voice. If anything it almost sounded like she pitied him. "I don't think he meant to do what he did but, as long as he lived, he was a threat to everyone, even himself. As messed up as it sounds, it probably would have been kinder if we'd executed him when we had the chance. I can't imagine going on living, knowing I was responsible for bringing about the end of the world as we know it..."

Asuka left in a hurry. Nagara's words dug into her like in knife in her chest. As cruel as they sounded, she had a hard time disagreeing with her. Shinji was hopelessly immature and had a bad habit of not learning from his mistakes. On top of that, he had been thrown into a world he didn't understand, had no place for him, and understandably feared him. It felt horrible to think so but maybe a quick death would have been the kindest thing they could have done for him. She felt like garbage just thinking something like that but what hurt worse was what she had called the boy: a threat. It was sad, but true. As long as another Impact was possible, the boy was a danger to everyone around him.

And now, so was she.

All of a sudden, the choker that had fit her just fine now felt painfully tight around her neck. And as she laid in her bed that night, she began to wonder if Shinji had felt the same way.

* * *

The door creaked open as Shinji stepped inside Mr Clarke's home that same night. The old man had asked him to come over but had neglected to mention why. Shinji had accepted, not wanting to make him mad. The place was humble and minimalist, the home of a man who liked to keep things simple. "Mr Clarke?" he called, "I'm here!" There was no answer. Being a curious boy he decided to search the house. He looked through each room but there was no sign of the man, not even the faintest hint of his presence. "Where is he?"

He didn't have to wait long for his answer as he felt a firm hand grab his shoulder. The kid whipped around just in time to see Wilson's fist zoom towards him, stopping just sort of hitting his face. Shinji yelped in shock, stumbling backwards and landing on his ass. "Gah! What the hell!?" "If this was a real fight you'd be nursing a broken nose right now." the old man said, reaching down and dragging the boy to his feet. "You need to watch your flank more boy. That blindspot of yours damn near got you killed." "I noticed." Shinji grumbled. Mr Clarke could be pretty intimidating for his age but his frustration overpowered his fear. "You may be impossibly strong for a weedy teenager, but that will only help you so much if you don't actually know how to fight." "I'm not that weedy sir..." The boy wasn't entirely wrong. He'd been helping to till the fields for the past few months and encouraged to exercise to improve his performance at work and the benefits were beginning to show, in the form of a few small muscle on his arms.

"That's beside the point!" the old man said, dismissively, "The point is that if you don't know how to properly defend yourself then sooner or later you're going to be outmatched by a smarter opponent. That is why you are here tonight." He led him back to the living room, where he had set up a sheet of thin steel panelling. "Tell me lad, do you know how to throw a punch." "Well yeah, sure," Shinji said. "I mean a real punch." Mr Clarke replied, "Not some weak, swing of the arm. Go on now," he motioned to the steel panel, "Show me how you throw a punch."

Shinji took a deep breath, and swung at the panel. The metal was rusty, but firm and the boy left a long, shallow dent in the steel as the side of his fist scraped across it. "Weak!" the old man barked, "Try again, and this time punch straight ahead. And tuck your thumb in boy. It will just get in your way, and you don't want to break it." Shinji tucked in his thumb, and threw another punch. The dent wasn't nearly as wide as before but it was noticeably deeper. "Much better!" Wilson said, inspecting the indent his pupil had made. "Now, if you really want to do some damage, twist your upper body as you punch, put your whole torso into that strike. And don't stop when you hit the metal, push ahead as if you're trying to punch something just behind your target.

Shinji struck the target again and again, each time leaving his mark on the panel, and his knuckles. Putting his whole body into the punch was easy enough but trying to punch beyond his target was a lot harder than it sounded. It didn't help that he bruised his fist with every punch he threw. "Again." Mr Clarke said as Shinji struck it for the Nth time. "Again. Again!" "Mr Clarke, my hands hurt..." Shinji whined, showing the old man his bruised, red knuckles. **"If your greatest fear is hurting your fist,"** Zeruel said, **"Then I dread to see you fight someone with actual talent."** "I guess that will do for now." Mr Clarke said. "We'll work on your stance next."

Throughout the night, the old man taught Shinji the basics of combat. He learned about stances, how to block and dodge and how to stay out of his opponent's reach. Despite his age, the old man was in pretty good shape, and was clearly an experienced fist fighter. He even managed to land the odd punch, even though he was clearly holding back. "Where did you learn to fight Mr Clarke?" Shinji asked him, during a quick water break. "Used to box back in my day." he replied, taking a sip from his water bottle. "Was lightweight champion for a few months, back in the early 70s, till I lost it to some lad from... Newcastle I think it was."

Shinji tried to imagine what it must have been like to be alive in the last couple decades before Second Impact. All he'd ever known was the world he grew up in and, from his perspective, the world before the year 2000 must have been like paradise. "Mr Clarke?" he asked, "What was it like, back before the Second Impact?" The old man scoffed. "That's quite an odd question from a boy you're age Kenji. Of all things I thought you might want to know what life was like before Third Impact."

He sat back in his chair, thinking back on the days of his youth. "Well, I can't speak for Japan or the following decades, but back in my prime it was absolute rubbish. My homeland suffered a withered economy, bomb attacks by Irish terrorists and leaders who had no idea what they were doing." He chuckled bitterly. "The music was good though." "But things were better right?" "Well certainly," Mr Clarke said, "But any period in history looks good compared to what we have now." Shinji scarcely believed the man could keep it together. "How do you keep going after seeing two Impacts?" "Well," the man replied, "In my case it, I'd already lost everything the first time around. Having happen a second time, well I wouldn't say it was easier but it wasn't as hard. Both times I lost a lot of the people I loved, but I found new friends, and cherished the ones that still remained from the old days. That's the key boy, learn to accept what will never come back, and appreciate what you still have."

Shinji thought on what his instructor had told him. It sounded like a good idea, but he didn't have anyone from the past to hold onto, not even the ones who were still alive. His thoughts turned to Misato, and how she'd turned him away. Sure she still appreciated Ritsuko, she still cherished Asuka, she still held onto the old staff from NERV but him? Him she'd thrown away like and old shirt that no longer fit her. She was fine keeping so many other people who'd been aiding his Father for years but threw him in the trash over one mistake! One that she herself encouraged him to make in the first place!

"Kenji, are you alright?"

The boy snapped out of his internal temper tantrum. He felt the tears on his cheeks, and a stinging sensation in his hand as he realized that, in his anger he'd squeezed his water bottle so tight it had cracked open. "I'm fine..." he lied. "Just, excited for next time. That's all" Mr Clarke gave him a long, hard stare. It was a weak lie, and Shinji felt like the man could see right through him. "Well, just try to keep a hold of yourself boy." he said. "I doubt the rest of the townsfolk would appreciate you breaking their things because you got too excited." He glanced at his watch. "It's later than I thought... I suppose we better get you back to Kaito before he gives himself a heart attack." As Shinji made his way out the front door he felt the old man's hand on his shoulder again. "See you again at the same time on Monday." he said, "And remember what I taught you tonight lad, and not just about how to throw a punch."

Shinji looked at his bruised knuckles again. Ordinarily, he'd be very concerned about something like that. But tonight, they felt like a mark of pride; a sign of his hard work.

"I will." he said, as he made his way back to the Hamasaki household. "And thank you... Sensei."


	12. For Whom The Bell Tolls

A/N: When I took my unintentional hiatus, I was starting to feel a little burned out on this story. It felt a lot like work and there were other stories I wanted to plan out a pt the same time. But now that I've returned to (Never) Alone, I feel like I've had a sort of awakening, and now I can pump out more material in less time with a kind of passion I've never felt before (watch it go dormant again like, a week after this chapters been posted).

Reader's Questions: Our first question this chapter (and last chapter incidentally) comes from Scattershot98 who asked how the runes on Asuka's eyepatch keep the Angelic contamination from spreading. Honestly, I was just going off information I'd picked up from the movie/found online. I'll figure out some explanation as the story goes on. The second comes from kempn200252 who asked why there was a Nemesis in Unit01's cage when it was sent up there by the United Nations. This was just a straight up screw up on my part. I had planned to have it be revealed that the world government had launched Shinji into space well before writing chapter 1 and failed to take that into account. I've provided a brief explanation in this chapter and I hope it helps explain things at least a little.

Anyways, please enjoy this latest chapter. First person to figure out why I gave it the name I did (aside from silly music references) wins a shout out at the start of the next chapter.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 12

For Whom The Bell Tolls

"All hands on deck!" Lieutenant Commander Ibuki yelled as the alarms blared across the ship. "Everyone to your positions ASAP, come on people!" The crew of the AAA Wunder rushed to their positions as the sounds of battle echoed beneath them. It was the first Nemesis attack they'd had to deal with in a while and it had caught them off guard. The target was Outpost 26; a mostly automated munitions factory. It was an odd choice for NERV's latest target. WILLE had many such factories around the world and this one wasn't even the largest. Still, it was necessary for them to defend it. Every factory they lost depleted the organizations weapons and ammunition and they would need all the military power they could get if they wanted to stand a chance when the final battle came.

Captain Shikinami hopped into the cockpit of her red Hellhound Jet. The fighter plane had been developed in the early days of the war and was designed to fight alongside the Evangelion Units. They were fast enough avoid an attack from the Nemesis Series, and it's arsenal was nothing to sniff at, but their weapons were unable to pierce an A.T Field thus, WILLE produced few of them. However, with the awakened Unit 01 as the Wunder's main power source, the ship was more than capable of neutralizing the Nemesis' barrier, allowing the jets to do just enough damage to act as a good distraction. Besides, they were the closest Asuka would get to piloting an Eva for the time being.

"I'm detecting ten of the Nemesis Series in the area!" Midori yelled as ten Pattern Blue signals appeared on her radar, "Circling the outpost with at least a mile's distance between each one." They hadn't faced this many at once in quite some time. Ordinarily, a group of this size would be a death sentence to anyone to dared to take them on, but with the Wunders newly empowered weaponry and the element of surprise, he odds were in WILLE's favour. "Turn the ship hard to starboard Nagara!" Misato barked as the factory came into view. "We need to take out as many of them at once as we can manage. Hellhound Jets, prepare to deploy as soon as the first shots are fired." The Wunder manuevered around the facility until it had three Nemeses lined up in it's sights. "Fire!"

A barrage of purple energy bolts tore through the sky, hitting all of their targets in quick succession, bringing the three purple saucers crashing down to the ground. Almost a third of the enemy forces had been obliterated in one fell swoop. All they had to do now was keep the rest of them busy, and pull their fire away from the main ship and the battle was as good as won. The doors to the ships launch bay opened with a deafening creak and Asuka's Hellhound shot out of the flagship and onto the battlefield, with Mari following right behind her. "Try to keep up with me, Princess." the Fourth Child said, taking aim at a Nemesis. "Hah! You might as well sit back and watch Four Eyes! Maybe if you're lucky I'll save a couple for you." The Captain sighed in annoyance. Their words were meaningless posturing. The fighter jets packed a lot of firepower but it was nothing compared to what the AAA Wunder was capable of. They might bring down one or two targets but the Wunder was the real power in this battle.

Just as the jets were about to open fire on the Nemesis Series, the saucers began to scatter, each one moving at top speed in a different direction. "Targets are on the move!" Kitakami yelled. The Captain gritted her teeth as the little blue dots on the radar flew off in all directions. "This doesn't make sense. On their own, the Nemesis Series are sitting ducks. Why would they spilt up?" "Targets are moving out of our range!" "Helmsman!" Misato yelled, "Follow the Nemesis Series heading to the east!" The synthetic angels heading eastward appeared to be closest together, firing upon the flagship as they retreated. "Hellhound Jets, take care of the remaining targets, do everything you can to draw them closer to the Wunder!" Asuka and Mari split apart, each one pursuing a different Nemesis Unit.

Asuka pushed hard on the throttle, flying the jet past her target and turning around to face it head on. "Now comes the fun part!" She slammed her fist against a red button on the side of the cockpit, activating Hellhound Phobos' battle mode. The cockpit shifted downwards, and the tail split in two, forming a pair of legs. The wings moved from the side of the jet to the back, resembling a pair of fins, and two arms sprouted from the side, each one baring a small minigun on it's wrist. The missle launchers slid from the plane's underside to the shoulders, and a head sprouted from the top of the jet, resembling the helmet of a medievil knight. The Hellhound's battle form didn't have the same speed as it's jet form but it was a lot more maneuverable and allowed the jet to make full use of it's arsenal. Two compartments opened on the mech's legs, revealing a pair of high capacity machine pistols.

A spray of bullets rattled off of the disc's armour, and a few rounds pierced the steel plating, drawing it's attention. A pair of flat steel tendrils sprouted from the Nemesis, and shot straight towards Asuka's Hellhound, only for the mecha to weave out of the way with ease. The robot's fingers wrapped around the one of the tendrils and Asuka kicked her engines into high gear, sending her mech bursting forward and taking the Nemesis along for the ride. The Hellhound strafed from side to side, narrowly avoiding it's prey's one free tendril until she saw the Ship of Hope. The mecha's heels dug into the ground, bringing Phobos to a standstill as Asuka swung the Nemesis high in the air. The purple disc struck the ground with a sickening metal crunch. Before the target had a chance to fight back, Asuka leapt on top of it, stomping on it's underside over and over until the metal shielding began to crack, revealing the scarlet core beneath. With her bloodlust sated for the moment, Asuka swung the Nemesis around like a hammer and threw it into the air, where it was shot to pieces by the Wunder's cannons and fell back to the earth,

"Score one for me Four Eyes!" Asuka roared as she shot off to hunt down her next target. "Took you long enough." Mari said, grinning from ear to ear as her own pink Hellhound, Deimos, blasted away at a Nemesis with her Gemini Rifle; a gun that could transform from an assault rifle to a sharpshooter with the flick of a switch. "Something distracting you? Or are you just feeling generous today?" "Shut up!" "Four Nemesis Units remaining!" Kitakami said as Nagara spun the ship around, leaving behind the scrap from three of the Nemesis series. "Moving to rendezvous with Deimos!" "Mari, keep that Unit pinned down as long as you can!" "No problem Captain!" Mari replied cheerfully as her shoulder cannon fired a dozen flechettes which dug into the target's side, emitting an electromagnetic pulse which held it in place until the Wunder arrived, decimating the saucer. "Better hurry up Princess, I'm catching up with you~" "The hell you are!" Asuka shouted as her mecha reverted to it's jet mode.

Off in the distance she could see a small swarm of grey Hellhounds battling a fifth Nemesis. This one was different from the others: instead of lashing out at the mechs with a pair of steel ribbons, this one slid across one long steel strip, wrapping up the other Hellhounds before and letting out an ear piercing shriek as it blasted the jets to smithereens. It was the same kind of Nemesis she had fought in space; a nasty little surprise that had been snuck inside Unit 01's cage by one of SEELE's inside men, just in case anyone tried to bring it back to Earth. She'd almost been killed by one of those things, just to bring back the same kid who'd brought about this nightmarish world. Now she was going to return the favor, with interest. As soon as she was in range, Asuka reverted to her battle form, pulling a pair of butterfly swords from her sides. Their super heated edges cut through the Nemesis' steel strip as the Hellhound strafed around it's target, preventing it from landing a solid hit on her. The girl set her mecha's missile launchers to manual aiming and pressed a button on top of the control yokes, firing her entire supply of rockets at the metal disc with pinpoint accuracy. "Conserve your ammunition Phobos!" Misato shouted, "You're job is to keep the enemy pinned down until they're in our range!"

'I'll keep it pinned down all right!' Asuka thought as the final rocket detonated against the side of the Nemesis, knocking it off the metal strip it rode on. Asuka's Hellhound soared through the air, landing hard on the psuedo angel and stabbing at it with one of her swords until it pierced the metal monster's armour. She dragged the blade through the disc's shell, slowly carving it open. "The target is down Asuka!" Misato barked, "Fall back and let the Wunder handle the rest!" She gritted her teeth as the white hot blade gradually melted through the steel until the shielding fell away, revealing the core beneath it. She thrust her sword at the core with all her might and the blade bounced right off. Undeterred, the Second Child stabbed at the red orb, again, and again, and again, each time leaving behind a small crack. She had just finally managed to drive her blade into the core when she heard the voice of the Vice Captain. "Asuka, look out!" The pilot turned her head to see a cross-shaped beam come screaming towards her. She leapt out of the way just a split second too late, and the blast shot straight through the mecha's legs, turning them to ash. With it's botttom half now a smoldering pile of dust, Phobo's remaining engines sputtered out of control, and the mecha hit the ground hard, dragging along the ground before it came to a screeching halt.

"Sneaky little prick!" Asuka growled as she tried to push the Hellhound back off the ground. But her engine was totalled, and her thrusters were barely functioning. She was in a hell of a lot of trouble. Things only got once when she looked up to see the two remaining Nemesis Units circling above her like vultures. "Guess that's it..." She whispered as she laid in her cockpit, tired and bleeding. As the saucers readied their final attacks, she began to wonder if there'd be anything waiting for her after death. Would she get to see him again, or her friend Hikari? Hell, she'd almost be happy to see that dumbass Touji again. She wished she could have lived to see the end of the war, but she'd learned the hard way that life didn't care what she wanted. She raised her arms in the air, preparing to launch one last futile attack. If she was going to die here, she wasn't going to go quietly.

The giant discs charged their beams, ready to send Asuka to the next world when a concussion missile struck one of the Nemesis Series in the side, knocking it into it's partner and bringing them both crashing down. Hellhound Deimos hovered above her, it's arm cannon smoking. "Where the Hell have you been?" "Chasing down these two of course." Mari replied, firing a small capsule from her mech's chest, which split apart, releasing an electrified net and catching both targets in it's grasp. "You're welcome by the way." The red gems on the front of the saucers began to glow, readying another blast. "Oh, thats not good..." Mari said as she flipped the switch on her gun, and the sniper's barrel folded back to form a double barreled assault rifle. "Don't suppose you've got any ammo left?" Asuka rolled the Hellhounds torso onto it's front. "Just my miniguns." she said. "That oughta do it." Mari said, opening fire on the two saucers. She was aiming for the gems on the front, not an easy target. Asuka pulled the triggers on her control yokes and a stream of minigun fire cut through the air. The bullets hit their mark, crippling the enemy's main weapon and leaving them all but helpless. With the targets trapped and unable to defend themselves, all they could do was wait for the Wunder to arrive and put them out of their misery.

"Well," Mari said as she flew back to the ship, carrying the remains of Asuka's hellhound on her back, "Three against two; I'd call that a win for me, wouldn't you Princess?" "Oh screw you Four Eyes!" Asuka shot back, "Those were my kills and you know it!" The brunette giggled as her partner yelled obscenities at her. "We both know you can't hit a target that small. And besides, you only got to take that shot because of yours truly~" Asuka bit her tongue. She couldn't see inside the cockpit but she knew Mari was pulling that stupid cat face again. "Speaking of which, don't you have something to say to me?" "I don't know what you're talking about." Asuka said, trying to act casual. "It's ok Princess, you can say it. It's just me, Mari." The pilot of Hellhound Phobos sighed in defeat. "Alright," she said, "Thank you, for saving me." The girl kicked back and folded her arms as the launch bay doors opened again. "Happy now?" "Very." Mari said, smirking as her jet flew past the doors, back into the safety of the AAA Wunder. "You do know the Captain's gonna rip you a new one for this, right?" Asuka just shrugged. "I'd be disappointed if she didn't."

* * *

Ritsuko Akagi stood beside her Captain, watching the Ayanami Type from the skybox as she spoke to Unit 01. The clone had been permitted one hour per week in the ship's main engine; no more, no less. In exchange, Rei II had shared with them what little she knew of the Mark 09 and Eva Unit 13. Evangelion Mark 09 had been referred to by NERV as "The Vessel of Adams". The staff at WILLE had heard this phrase before but weren't sure what it meant, save that it was in some way connected to the four glowing giants who had appeared in Antarctica, on that terrible day of September 13th 2000. As it turned out, Mark 09 had been built using one of these Adams as it's base, and was designed to house the Adam within Mark 06, and defend Unit 13 during Fourth Impact. On the subject of Eva 13 itself, she knew nothing they hadn't already figured out. It too had been built from an Adam, but unlike The Vessel, this Evangelion had been made to absorb Lilith, creating an unholy fusion of the creators of both humans and Angels alike, to what end, they didn't know.

"She requested a name change." Ritsuko said, taking a long drag of her cigarette as the pale skinned girl sat before Unit 01. Misato blinked at that. It wasn't an unreasonable request but it was an odd one, at least for her. "Why is that?" The Vice Captain shrugged. "She says she can't see herself as Rei Ayanami anymore." The Doctor stared down at the clone as it asked Unit 01 all manner of questions. In all honesty, she couldn't see the girl as Rei Ayanami either. Ritsuko never had quite the same relationship with the Children that Misato did, but she had been put in charge of Rei's health and wellbeing, back in the Pre-TI days. In the time, she had formed an odd sort of attachment to Rei. It wasn't the surrogate parent relationship Misato had with Shinji and Asuka; more like a teacher/student sort of thing. But still, the Doctor had been sad to see the original go.

"She did give one other reason." she continued. "She said it didn't feel right to use her name. Something about not being 'his Rei'." "I see." Katsuragi said. It didn't take a genius to figure out who Rei II was talking about. "Everything seems to come back to him these days..." Ritsuko nodded quietly. The Captain had told her about the nightmare, waking up in a cold sweat with the image of her reflection judging her burned into her mind, alongside her memories of Unit 01's awakening and Second Impact. She tried to hide it but Ritsuko had known Misato for a long time, and she could tell the boy's passing had effected her deeply. It wasn't supoosed to be this way. Originally, they had planned to explain the situation to Shinji as soon as they were out of danger. From there, they would take him to the city of Tartarus, a massive prison complex where he would be incarcerated for his role in bringing about Third Impact. At least, that would be the official story. In reality, a few of Misato's most trusted men and women would have taken the boy from the prison city to a secret underground facility, where he would be detained for the remainder of the war, safe from his Father and himself, and given proper military training. Once the war was over and his sentence was served, the boy would be drafted into WILLE to help with the post-war relief effort. It was hardly a fairytale ending, but he would have been kept safe, given an opportunity to atone for his mistakes and repair his damaged friendships and, with luck, perhaps feel like he belonged again.

After Fourth Impact however, all of that had flown out the window. They'd managed to get the UN behind their plan before, but once it had come out that Shinji was instrumental in setting off two apocalyptic events in a row, almost all support for him vanished. From that moment forward, the world had agreed that Shinji Ikari could not be trusted. At best, he was an impulsive and irresponsible fool. At worst, he was seen as a traitor to all mankind, and a co-conspirator with his Father. Many people within WILLE and the UN called for him to be imprisoned for life, either aboard the Wunder or in Tartarus' Supermax Security Prison. Some were even calling for him to be executed for treason. But the more Ritsuko pondered the road not taken, the more she doubted their plans for the boy would ever have worked out the way they planned it. Could Shinji really have handled military life? And if he could, would the world have accepted him, even if he had the support of the organization that brought down NERV? And beyond all that, the boy had never truly felt like he belonged, even in a Post-Second Impact world. How could he ever hope to belong in a world that feared him?

"If she wants a name of her own then I'm not going to stop her." Misato said as the ship gently rumbled around them, "A change in identity isn't exactly a major concern, especially when we're letting her communicate with a sentient WMD." The awakened Evangelion had cooperated with them so far, much to the Captain's relief. The revelation that Yui Ikari was being held inside Unit 01 had raised countless questions, many of which disturbed them. How autonomous was the Unit, and how much control, if any, did Ikari have over it? Worst of all, could she be in league with Gendo? The Eva had answered no, but they had no way of knowing if they could trust it's word, or even if the being conversing them was truly the original Rei, or something else.

"How's Asuka?" Between the battle at Outpost 26, sending a battle report to the UN, and overseeing the development of their new project, the Captain had not had the time to attend Asuka's court martial or check up on her condition. "Physically she'll be just fine." Ritsuko told her, "A few cuts and bruises and a sprained leg but she's expected to make a full recovery." If there was one advantage the Hellhound Jets had over the Evangelions, it was that the pilots couldn't feel the pain of having their mecha's legs disintegrated. "We've sentenced her to a few weeks in the brig, along with a 1 month suspension of duty and non-paste rations." It was a mere slap on the wrist, and it would be all but meaningless the moment another Nemesis attack occurred but it sent an important message about disobeying orders. "She's been in a foul mood ever since then." "She likely more angry at herself than any of us." Misato said, "It's hardly the first time she's disobeyed us, or rushed into a fight but she seems even more pissed off than usual." Ritsuko took another drag of her cigarette. "I expect it has something to do with the Angelic contamination, and having to wear a DSS Choker." "I thought as much." Misato said, "It's not fair that she has to wear that thing..." She left the rest unsaid but Ritsuko knew what she was thinking.

"Well, time's up." The Captain said finally. "Bring her up here and let's see what she can tell us."

The Ayanami Type was left alone with the Captain and Vice Captain. Whatever information she had for them was on a need-to-know basis until further notice. "The Commander is working on a new weapon to use against WILLE." the blue-haired girl told them. "Though I cannot say for sure what it is." Misato took a deep breath. "You don't have any idea what it might be?" she asked, "Try and remember what you've seen and heard during your time at NERV." Rei II sat in her chair, perfectly still as she contemplated everything she'd learnt in her short lifetime. "I only remember hearing the Vice Commander mentioning the use of cores in their construction." she said, "And seeing some blue prints showing a human-like figure." Realistically that could only mean one thing. "A new Evangelion." The officers said, together. It was always within the realm of possibility, yet it wasn't what they had expected. After Unit 13, it seemed unlikely that they would need another Eva. "Perhaps they need a new vessel for the Adams..." Ritsuko said. The Mark 6 may have been destroyed but, if the clone was to be believed, the Adams themselves were virtually indestructible, and were most likely in a dormant state after Fourth Impact.

"Will there be anything else?" the girl asked Misato. "No," the Captain said simply, "You may go now Rei." They still had questions for the girl, but Misato knew that she would not give it freely. "My name is not Rei." the clone replied. "Ah, of course." Misato said, "You wanted your name changed. What would you like to be called?"

"Suzu." the girl said. "My name is Suzu."

* * *

Shinji grunted in pain as he hit the ground again. He had been training with Mr Clarke for the past couple of weeks and he felt like he was getting nowhere. In a real fight he could have taken the old man down easily but in a sparring match, where he was forced to hold back and rely on his skill, he might as well have been a small child, fighting a professional wrestler. "We're not stopping until you get this right lad." the man said, gruffly, "This is a basic standing tackle, it should be very easy to counter if you know what you're doing." Shinji pouted like a child as he pulled himself to his feet. He knew it should be easy to defend against, but every time the man charged at him he was like a deer in the headlights. "I'm sorry." he said, "I know what I should be doing but I just can't do it in time." "You're acting too slowly." Mr Clarke surmised, "I don't see how though, you had no trouble with his sort of thing before." The boy shook his head. "Those were real fights though. Back then I knew that if I didn't do something quick, I was going to die. Now I have time to think and-" "And that's the problem lad!" Wilson said, prodding the boy on the chest. "Don't think. Feel. Thinking is what we do before the fight begins. If you try to think in the middle of a punch up, then by the time you've thought up a plan you've already been knocked on your arse!"

Shinji looked down at the floor as he thought on what his Sensei had told him. "Eyes front." the man said, preparing to tackle him again, "And this time, imagine this were a real fight. I'm not your Sensei, I'm a hardened thug, and if I get you down on the ground you're as good as dead." Shinji closed his eyes and tried to imagine Wilson as one of those suited goons, the same men who'd taken shots at him not too long ago. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and assumed a defensive stance. "Ok." he said, "I think I'm-" He yelped in shock as the old man tackled him, nearly lifting him off the ground. The boy's instincts kicked in, and he clumsily beat his fists against Mr Clarke's back, landing on all fours as he felt himself slip from the man's grip. "You could have warned me you were going to do that..." he moaned. "I've warned you enough." Wilson said. "You think the enemy is going to wait for you to be ready?" The boy shook his head. "Exactly. You need to know what to do when you're faced with the unexpected. What you did just now was a good start, but I think you can do better. Now get up and lets do this again." Shinji spent the better part of an hour trying counter Wilson's attacks. Each time, he did, they both found themselves face down on the floor, but Shinji was slowly improving. As the minutes ticked by he noticed he was countering each tackle attempt faster and faster until finally, he dug his feet into the ground and stopped his teacher dead in his tracks. Seizing the opportunity, Shinji raised his arm in the air and brought his elbow downwards, stopping just short of the man's spine. "That's what I'm talking about!" The old man said, pulling himself free of his students grip. "Now boy. Let's say I was to pull your leg out from under you, how would you go about countering that?" Shinji thought on it for a moment. "Kick you off me with my free leg?" "Good answer! Let's practice."

They spent most of the evening practising defense. Hours of time was spent on blocks, reversals and, most importantly, dodging. "You're still having troublle watching your flank." Mr Clarke said, having just rattled the boy with a chop to the back of his head, "If you can't defend yourself from behind, you're going to be easy prey for anyone with half a brain." Shinji stared at the floor in disappointment. "Well, I suppose we can come back to that next time." Wilson said, taking out a familiar steel panel. "Let's finish up with this again." Shinji groaned at the sight of that warped metal sheet. He'd had trouble putting his full strength behind his attacks, and every time he failed, he ended up hurting himself. "Come on boy!" Mr Clarke yelled as Shinji struck the metal again, recoiling in pain. "You've taken a bullet to the leg and kept going. How can you not take a little bruise on your fist!?" "I keep telling you it's not the same!" the boy complained, nursing his sore knuckles, "I can work through the pain when I have to, but only when I'm in real danger, or I'm really angry." Wilson stroked his mustache as he tried to come up with some way to bring out the full extent of Shinji's power. "Alright then," he said, "Let's approach it another way: this time, when you throw your punch, try to imagine your punching someone who makes you angry; that you really, truly hate." The First Child closed his eyes. His Father was the most obvious choice. Gendo Ikari had been a negative presence in his life for as long as he could remember. The man had abandoned him as a child, come back into his life just to use him as a shield, forced him to attack one of his friends, and tricked him into bringing about two Impacts. He threw a barrage of punches at his target. They left a deeper mark than any he had thrown before but still he knew he could do better. Then, he tried thinking of Itachi, a fitting name for such a weasel. Just as exploitative and callous as his Father, with an infuriating smug attitude to boot, the Mayor may have been the only man to ever piss Shinji off as much as Gendo. Punch after punch slammed against the metal panel but it did no more damage than before.

'Damn it!' Shinji thught as he paced back and forth in front of his target, 'What's wrong with me? I know I can hit harder than that so why can't I? There must be something I can think of to push me over the edge...' He heard the voice of Zeruel in his mind. **"What about the purple haired woman?"** Shinji's expression darkened. 'Watch yourself Zeruel, you're walking on very dangerous ground.' The Angel scoffed at him. When they had first met Zeruel had been almost completely emotionless. Over time however, it seemed as if it was starting to become more and more expressive. Shinji didn't know if he should be concerned about that. **"You're certain? The woman who made you her prisoner, kept you from the one thing which gave your life meaning, threatened to kill you, you feel no anger or hatred towards her?"** 'No!' Shinji replied, 'She's not like that normally. She took me into her home, she made me feel like I belonged, just for a moment...' **"And then she threw you away, as if you were nothing to her."** Shinji felt his breathing quicken. 'That doesn't make me angry, that just makes me sad.' **"You're body is telling me otherwise."** Zeruel said, **"The moment I spoke of her you're heartbeat spiked and your blood rushed through you." '** That's because of you not her.' Shinji said, 'I know a lots happen but I don't hate Misato. I mean, I've been upset at her but... No, no, I'm not angry at her. I mean maybe I was for a little while but, but...' The Angel raised it's voice. **"I do not understand what you are saying human. Your answers are nonsensical. Do you hate the woman or not?"** "I DON'T KNOW!'

Everything went red, and the boy felt a stinging, scratching feeling in his right arm as his senses slowly returned to him. He looked down to see his right arm puncturing the steel panel. The skin had been scraped and cut in several places, and the mild sting quickly turned into a burning pain as his scream echoed off the metal walls.

"Well, I suppose I can't say you didn't get results..." Mr Clarke said as he bandaged up the boy's wounds, "I'm sorry boy. I shouldn't have tried to push you so hard." "No it's fine." Shinji said, "It's my fault, I got carried away. I'm sorry for doing something so stupid." "Only because of me lad. If I handed encouraged you, this would never have happened." Something about that struck a nerve with the boy, he didn't know why. "Let's just agree we both did something stupid." he said, "Anyway, I'd better head back now. I'll need to wear long sleeves shirts for a while or they probably won't let you train me anymore." the old man chuckled. "That's probably for the best really." "I don't think so." the kid said, smiling, "I think you're a great Sensei!" Wilson looked up in surprise. "Why thank you Kenji." he said, "That's very nice of you."

As Shinji made his way back home on that cold night, his thoughts turned to Misato; all those memories they shared, all the times she got mad at him, all the fun times they had. And then he remembered something: something from that horrible day when everything went wrong, something that made him clench his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"You can do it Shinji! Do it for yourself!"

* * *

A/N: Quick addendum here, I know the last two chapters have been very WILLE centric. I just thought it would be good to provide some explanation to what happened between 2.0 and 3.0, show some more of the war against NERV and show that the organizations attitude towards Shinji was more than just one sided hatred of him (though if reviews of chapter 11 tell me anything, I may need to work harder on that). Don't worry though, the next couple chapters will be much more focused on Shinji's story in Elysium. See you there!

-Rollinaround


	13. A Date With Anxiety

**A/N:** Chapter 13 is here at last. Sorry for taking so long on this one but I came down with a case of writers block. I wanted this chapter to be a more relaxed one that focused more on character development. I thought of adding another scene on the Wunder to this chapter but I didn't want it to take over the chapter again and I figured you guys had waited long enough. I hope Chapter 13 will be worth the wait.

Reader Questions: This chapter's Reader's Question goes to Darkscythe Drake, who asked if this fanfic would include a pairing between Shinji and one of the girls. The short answer is yes, but you'll have to keep reading to find out.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoy Chapter 13

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 13

A Date Wih Anxiety

* * *

A dim lightbulb illuminated the dinner table as the Hamasaki family sat down for their evening meal: a simple vegetable stew containing potatoes, carrots and cabbage, with a slice of bread on the side. It wasn't exactly haute cuisine, in fact, by the standards of pre-TI Japan, it was below average. But it was hearty and filling, and in the slums of Elysium it was good eating. Besides, the weather was taking a turn for the colder again, and it was food like this that kept them going. Normally, a big meal like this would be a rare occasion but after the incudent with the Mayor they had become commonplace. They'd expected Itachi and his thugs to have come back in force, and had been preparing for a big fight for weeks. Instead, they'd been left in peace, to grow their crops in peace without having them plundered by a pack of suits. They hadn't even intervened when someone modified the water dispenser to allow the townsfolk to use it for free. Shinji knew this couldn't last forever. Best case scenario, Itach would come back seeking another deal, and Shinji would force him to accept one that worked out in his favor. Worst case scenario, they tried to take the slums back by force and the war began again.

But for now, life was good and Shinji meant to enjoy it as much as he could.

"So Shinji." Himari said, chewing on a stewed potato, "How's the training going?" "Oh, it's going great." Shinji told her as he dabbed up gravy with his bread, "Mr Clarke's really been giving me hell." The cold weather had worked in his favor; it meant he had to wear a long shirt, which hid the cuts on his arms he'd earned by punching a hole in a sheet of metal. He might have talked Himari into letting something like that slide, but Kaito would have lost his mind over something like this. He'd probably never let Shinji train with Wilson again, and the last thing he wanted to do was get his Sensei in trouble. Besides, it wasn't Mr Clarke's fault. Shinji was the one who let his emotions get the best of him. "I'd never really been a fighter until now. I mean I'd fought Angels before but it's not the same thing." Kaito gave the boy a concerned look. "Well, you know we'd rather rather you didn't have to fight all the time, right?" "Yeah, I know." Shinji replied, "But I figure I'm gonna need to fight again anyway. I might as well be ready for it." "I understand that," Kaito said firmly, "But I'm worried about you. No matter how strong you are or how much training you get you're not invicible. And quite frankly, I don't think you should get used to hurting people. You're still at an impressionable age and I'm worried about how this is going to affect you." Shinji caught himself scoffing at the idea. "Kaito, it's not like I'm going to turn into a psychopath or anything! Things are going well for once. I'm protecting you guys, I'm in control of my life. I've never felt better." "That's what worries me." Kaito said, a little too harshly, "I don't want you to feel good causing pain." "I don't!" Shinji said, "I just want to look after my family!"

And awkward silence hung over the table as they quietly returned to their meal. "So Shinji," Himari said cautiously, "Ren was asking after you on our expedition today." The boy perked up a little at that. Ren had been discharged from the hospital not too long ago but her scavenger missions had kept her busy. They'd been sending people out more frequently, not just for supplies, but to mitigate the number of victims in the event of another raid by the Mayor. "She did?" the boy asked her, "What did she say?" His surrogate Mother smiled in relief. "She says she'd like to meet up with you tonight, at the local cinema. I've spoken to Mr Clarke and he said he doesn't mind you taking the night off training to spend some time with her." A little bit of gravy dripped out of Shinji's mouth as he sat there, frozen in disbelief. Had he been asked out on a date? Such a thing was unprecedented for him. Even he and Rei had never actually gone out together before, except for that one time at the Marine Restoration Facility, but that was with friends. His heart raced, driven by a potent cocktail of excitement and nervousness. What should he do? Would it go anywhere? What if he screwed it up?

"Um Shinji?" Aki said, sounding concerned, "You still there?" The boy snapped back to reality, feeling a little embarrassed as he looked down to see gravy stains on his shirt. "You might want to change clothes before you go out." Himari said, stifling a giggle. Shinji face turned red as a tomato as he jumped out of his chair and bolted for his room. "R- right!"

* * *

Shinji Ikari's heart pounded as he approached the cinema, a long, single floor building a short walk away from the Hamasaki's house. It was a streetch to call it a cinema really. It had two screens and each one seated about 30 people. But, in the slums of Elysium it was a luxury, and it kept the people happy in these troubled times. Every moment between now and dinner had felt like hours. His first time going out with a girl. Whether it was a date or just a casual meet up between friends his stomach was practically in a knot when he saw her standing at the entrance, waving happily to him. "Hey Kenji!" she said, "You have any trouble finding the place?" "Not really." Shinji replied, "Just had to get ready at the last minute." Ren chuckled. "And I thought guys were supposed to be good at that." she said, "Anyway are we gonna go in or you just gonna stand there all night?"

The film they went to see was a sci-fi movie from the late 2000s. It was about some mad scientist attempting to repopulate the Earth using cloning technology, only to end up creating a mad clone of himself that he had to defeat. It wasn't a terrific viewing experience; a cheap projector showed the movie on what was basically just a big wooden square, painted white, the audio had to be played on separate speakers and didn't quite sync up with the visuals and the lack of tiered seating made it very easy for the people in front to block their view. Nevertheless, they had a pretty good time and the poor quality of the equipment almost gave it a sort of B Movie feel.

Ren was mostly interested in seeing what the world was like before Third Impact while Shinji's thoughts dwelled on Rei, and that... copy of her. He did his best to put those thoughts out of his mind and spoiling the evening. Besides, he was having enough trouble dealing with his nerves. He spent much of the night worrying about whether he should make a move or if that would be going too fast, or if he'd mistaken Ren's intentions all together. But then his thoughts turned back to Rei and the time he spent together, and he knew just what to do. It was better to just be himself and let things play out. 'Whatever happens happens' he thought. When the movie was over Ren suggested they stay behind at the lobby and get some tea. Their drinks were mothing special but, at the very least they were better than the imitation tea Shinji had drank while out in the trail with Asuka.

"So Kenji," Ren said, taking a swig of her tea, "You ever had a girlfriend before?" "Sort of." he replied, smiling politely. "It, didn't really work out though." "Awwww, that's a real shame." Shinji nodded quietly and did his best to keep his smile up. "It is..." he said, "She was the first person who really made me feel, wanted." He fought back the tears as he remembered the last time he saw her: when they embraced in the core of Unit 01. "But, there's nothing I can do about it. And we shouldn't let it ruin things." Ren gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It's ok. I'm sorry if I upset." "No it's fine." Shinji said, "You didn't know. And I'm glad you asked me out tonight." "Thank you too." She smiled warmly at him for a moment before she decided to change the subject.

"How old did you say you were?" "I'm 14." he said as he tossed his empty paper cup in the bin. "Thought so." Ren said. "That would make you a Post-TI kid then?" Shinji gave her a curious look. "A what?" "A Post-TI kid." she explained. "It's a nickname for people born around 2015 or later." Shinji felt like such an idiot; it was painfully obvious when he thought about it. "Oh. Yeah, that's me." he said, scratching the back of his head. "Must have been nice," Ren said, "Seeing the world the way it used to be." He nodded. She was right, though not for the reasons she was thinking. "I'm 16 myself so I'm a Second Impact kid, though just barely." She smiled wistfully as she stared into her cup. "I don't really remember much from back then, except for that day on New Years. I'll never forget seeing that black hole open in the sky..." Shinji's heart sank. He'd had the good fortune not to see Third Impact from the outside but it sounded like something out of a nightmare, and he could only imagine what it had been like for Misato and the others. He was surprised to hear it had happened over New Years but then, after everything that had happened after the 9th Angel attack, nobody had the time to think about little things like that.

"I still wonder what went down that day." she continued, "The UN kept almost any information under wraps. The only thing we were told about were the people responsible for it," Shinji felt his heart in his throat. He knew exactly where she was going with this. "The Third Child..." "Yeah." Ren said, not looking up from her drink. "They said that Commander Ikari had planned the whole thing from the start but the pilot of Eva 01 was the one that stuck out in everyone's mind. I mean, we all knew he was Gendo's son but he was one of the people fighting for us, he was supposed to protect us." Shinji felt his hands shake as she spoke. He stared down at the table, feeling his guilt welling up inside him. "Well, I'm sure he didn't mean to do it..." "He still did it though." Ren said, "Even if he meant well it doesn't change what he did. He still killed millions of people." There was no anger in her voice but the warmth had gone from her voice.

Shinji looked up to see Ren staring directly at him. He was terrified. Had she figured it out? It was hard to tell; her expression was unreadable, not that he'd ever been good at reading people in the first place. He did everything he could to keep cool, hoping she wouldn't see the fear in his eyes. And then, her face softened. "You ok Kenji?" she asked. "Wh- what?" "You look kinda pale, and you keep feeling your neck." He looked down. He had indeed had his hand around his neck, feeling it as if he was expecting to find something there. "Sorry..." he mumbled, "I just don't like thinking about it..." Ren looked disheartened. "Oh Kenji, I'm sorry." she said, "I've never been good at this sort of thing. You must think I'm a total jerk." "No no, you're ok!" Shinji said, "I'm terrible at conversation too. I mean- not that you're terrible at it or anything I just- Oh God, wjat am I doing?" Ren chuckled at his fumbling attempt at cheering her up. "You're sweet." she said. And just like that, it felt like all the tension had flown out of the room.

They spent the next couple hours getting to know each other better, discussing their favourite food, films, how they each wound up in Elysium. "I was looking for supplies for my village," she explained, "When we ran into one of those flying saucers. Thing chased us for God knows how long and I got cut off from the rest of the group. Must've spent like three days wandering around the desert before I found this place. When I saw it for the first time I thought it was a mirage or some kind of dying dream." "Wow..." Shinji said, "And I thought me and Asuka had it rough. At least we had rations and water." Ren looked intrigued "Oh, who's Asuka?" "Oh, um just some girl I knew before I came here?" "You sure that's all she was?" Ren asked, a cheeky look on her face.

They were talking for so long the Cinema eventually had to kick them out so the staff could go home. "Maybe we should get ourselves hospitalised again, so we can talk all night." Ren joked as they stepped outside . Shinji stifled a chuckle. "I don't think that's a good idea." he said, "Besides, the other patients would be screaming at us to shut up." They shared a good laugh about that. "You're a good guy Kenji." Ren said as they walked back to her house, "Thanks for putting up with me tonight." "Oh it was nothing." said Shinji, blushing. "If anything, I should be thanking you." They said goodnight at Ren's home, and then Shinji made his way back to Kaito and Himari's place, tightening his coat around him as the cold of night bit at his skin.

 **"You are wasting you're time with her."**

Zeruel told Shinji as the boy made his way home, the red sand staining his shoes. The teen ignored it. The Angel had taken to speaking to him mostly in private, lest Shinji gave them both away. **"She will never truly accept you, and you know it."** The boy shrugged. 'That's your opinion.' he thought. 'Ren never has to know who I am.' **"Then she will not accept you,"** Zeruel insisted, **"She will only accept Kenji, the person you pretend to be."**

Shinji thought about what the Angel said. It was true, there was much to like about Shinji Ikari. The Third Child was a coward, a fool. He was sneaky, weak, and a brat... But Kenji Rokubungi, he was different; Kenji was brave, he was strong, he could protect the people he cared about. People liked him, people cared him. Kenji might one day be able to live out his life in peace. What the hell could Bratty Shinji ever hope to do. When he thought about it, was it really that bad if people only accepted Kenji.

'Alright then,' Shinji thought, 'If that's the case, I guess I'll just be Kenji Rokubungi from now on.' **"You can call yourself whatever you want."** Zeruel replied coldly, **"But no matter who or what you say you are, you will always be Shinji Ikari. Nothing you do will ever be able to change that."** Shinji caught himself feeling around his neck again. A brief momemt of doubted clouded his mind before he suddenly yanked his hand away from his neck in anger.

"Shinji Ikari," he said finally, "Is dead."


	14. Harbinger of Tragedy

**A/N:** Hey guys. Not much to tell about this one, just wanted to do a little more character development as we approach the story's turning point and do at least one scene at WILLE that didn't involve Shinji in any way. Also, one of my readers pointed out that he last chapter didn't really connect to the previous one because it didn't follow up on Shinji's resentment for WILLE and Misato. I hope that this chapter will fix that at least a little. Admittedly, the difficult thing about righting these characters is hat they have a lot of conflicting feelings and the line between a character that feels complicated and one that feels inconsistent can be a very fine one. Anyways enough rambling, hope you all enjoy Chapter 14.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 14

Harbinger of Tragedy

* * *

The gentle hum of the electronic lighting surrounded Kozo Fuyutsuki as he typed away at his keyboard in the earlyhours of the morning. Despite his aging body, he'd found that he noticed the little noises more and more as the years went on. It was a strange thing to get caught up on but he supposed it was only natural. When you're being constantly bombarded with radio chatter, reports from the lab, blaring alarms and the sounds of battle echoing in the distance, it was easy for such sounds to get drowned out. Now the ruins of NERV HQ were deserted, save for him and Ikari, and the halls and chambers of his workplace had become eerily quiet and lonely.

The lights weren't the only sounds that filled the room as he quietly toiled away; the grinding and crunching of gears echoed above his office. The factory machines were hard at work, manufacturing the latest Evangelion project. His work however, was something more recent, and much more delicate. Project Gemini: a new bioweapon that would form the backbone of Gendo Ikari's master plan. On the face of it, the project was relatively simple. The science wasn't especially new and they already had a number of DNA samples to use as a base. But this was different from their other attempts at creating artificial life. Writing the genetic code was easy, but the weapons capabilities, that would require something they had never attempted before. But they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

A window popped up on Fuyutsuki's monitor, a direct call from the Commander. "You do realize you don't need to be working this late?" Gendo said, dryly, "The project is already progressing faster than we predicted, and we won't be able to put our plans into action for quite some time." The Vice Commander didn't even look away from his work. "Is there something else I can do around here?" he asked. Ever since the day of the initial Unit 01 tests, their work had effectively become their whole life. It was one of the few things that hadn't changed in the past 14 years. "You can sleep." the Commander replied, "You haven't slept in 20 hours. It's going to affect your work." Fuyutsuki allowed himself a little smile. "Your concern is noted Gendo." he said as the clacking of fingers against keys rang in his ears, "But you have nothing to worry about. I'm almost finished here. Then I'll go to sleep."

The Vice Commander closed communications with old his friend, and returned to his work. He wasn't expecting to get much sleep anyway. Few people did in these dark times, and what they were working on could well keep him awake for years to come.

* * *

Anyone who has ever been to a marketplace can tell you that they are chaotic at the best of times and the Elysian slums were no exception. Citizens rushed about the place, haggling with the local vendors, quarreling over absurd prices all while the owners of each stand kept trying to shout over each other. It was a miracle Shinji and Ren could hear each other over the noise. The familiar market smells of fresh fruit and vegetables were there, mixed with the smell of rusted iron and the ever present stench of LCL, that wafted over from the nearby river. The stalls looked like they were just barely holding together, and their wares were often some assortment of old electronics, tacky homemade ornaments and Pre-3I trinkets that were of little real value. Still, the market had an odd rustic charm as the two adolescents wormed their way through the crowd.

They'd been going out for a couple of weeks now, mostly during the day so it didn't get in the way of Shinji's training. In that time she'd gotten to know a lot more about him: his lonely childhood, life with Misato, his friendship with Kensuke and Toji, all of them slightly modified to fit his cover story. He had to be careful with names, in case he let anything slip. A gentle guitar melody carried through the streets as an elderly busker sat on the side of the road, entertaining the children of the town. "You play music Kenji?" Ren asked, "Kinda." Shinji said. "I used to play the cello back in school. I was never very good at it though. I mostly chose it so I wouldn't draw attention to myself." "Didn't want people seeing wjat you were doing huh?" The boy shook his head. "No, it wasn't like that." he said. "I just never liked being in the spotlight; too much pressure. I also played a bit of piano but I only know one song." Ren smiled at him. "Oh, what song?" Shinji thought back to his time with Kaworu. "Something french sounding. Quatre Mains I think..." "I've heard of that one." Ren said, "It's old as hell; like way before Second Impact. That, a cello, and a piano, you're school must have really lucked out." Shinji chuckled. "Yeah, I guess they did..."

 **"You can't keep up this lie forever."** Zeruel said. 'And why not?' Shinji thought. He'd been getting increasingly annoyed at the Angel's interruptions over the past few days. 'I can keep this up as long as I want.' **"Then you must not want it that badly,"** Zeruel quipped, **"Because you haven't gotten any better at lying in the past few weeks."** 'Will you just shut up?'

The boy's stomach rumbled loudly, making Ren snigger. "Well, guess I know where we're going next." Shinji blushed as she dragged him over to a nearby food stand. A batch of fries sat in a pot of scalding oil, turning them a crispy golden brown. The smell was heavenly. With Itachi's men no longer taking most of their crop, they even had enough ingredients to make seasoning. "These are really good." Shinji said as he chewed on a handful of fried potatoes. "I'll have to try making them sometime." Ren looked up from her food. "Oh, you like to cook?" "Yeah," the boy replied, "You see, when I was living with Mi- my old friends, they didn't know how to cook, so I had to learn by myself."

Ren smiled at him. "Wish I knew how to cook. My parents were gonna teach me but, they died when I was about 8." Shinji hung his head. "Kenji?" Ren said, "Is something bothering you?" "Sorry." the boy said, "I was just thinking back." "Thinking about your parents?" He shook his head. "No, my friends..." Ren looked at him sympathetically. "You miss them don't you?" The teen just stared at his plate. He thought back to his time with Misato and the others. He'd tried his best to put them out of his mind since his first date He wanted to leave that life behind him but it wasn't easy. He was bad at making up his fake backstory on the spot and had to keep dipping into his past to fill in the holes. "I guess..." he mumbled, "I just, can't get over what they did to me." Ren stared at him. She wasn't sure if she should pry further or just let sleeping dogs lie.

In the end, he told her himself. He knew he shouldn't but he needed a moment to vent. "I got some people killed..." he admitted. "My friends got ambushed by a monster while out in the wastelands and none of us could stop it. I managed to kill it in the end but, well, a lot of people died in the process." "Kenji..." Shinji felt his hand ball into a fist. "I just wanted to save Rei," he said, "I make one stupid mistake that I didn't even know I was making and all of a sudden they treat me like a murderer..." He gritted his teeth as the events of that day played over again in his head. "One of them even encouraged me to do it and she still treated me like dirt. They treated me like a prisoner, told me they didn't need me anymore, then threatened to kill me when I ran away!" His blood boiled as he remembered how they treated him, then he felt Rens hand on his, and he snapped back to reality. "I'm sorry..." "Relax." she said firmly, "It'll be ok." The Third Child let out a heavy sigh. "It's just, I know I screwed up." he said, "But what was I supposed to do? Let everyone die?" The girl squeezed his hand gently. "It's hard to say what you should do when something like that happens." she said, "I know you can't change your past, but you can at least change your future." Shinji looked into her eyes, and her warm smile gave him courage. "You don't have to be the same person you were back then."

He sat there for a good moment, feeling her soft hand against him. "Thanks." he said, "That makes me feel a lot better." Ren stood up, pulling him with her. "Come on." she said, "Let's see what we can do to take your mind off it."

Shinji smiled meekly as she led him back through the marketplace. "Sounds good to me." he said, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "It's getting pretty long now isn't it?" Ren noted. "Yeah." Shinji said. His hair was almost reaching his shoulders now. "Figured it might help when things get colder. Only problem is keeping it tidy." Ren dug into her pocket and pulled out a hair tie. "Here, try it like this..." She got behind him and tied his hair in a short pony tail. "There, much better. "Thank you." the boy said, blushing, "I'll have to get one of my own later." Ren shook her head. "Nah, you can just keep mine. I got plenty more where that came from." She chuckled. "I know, kind of a lame gift but..."

"It's fine." Shinji said, smiling, "I like it. Thank you Ren."

* * *

The RD wing of the AAA Wunder was absolutely packed. Just about every researcher, technician and engineer they had aboard was hard at work; rushing down the clean, steel hallways, sifting through gigabyte upon gigabyte of data and talking at a mile a minute. In the the largest room of the foundry lay their newest and most important project: a massive, Frankenstein's monster of a creature, pieced together from the remains of Eva Units 02 and 08. It would be some time before it would be ready to go, but they counted themselves lucky they were able to build this thing in the first place. Unit 08 had gotten off relatively easy. It's arms had been disintegrated in the battle with Eva 13 and had sustained moderate damage from it's fall to the earth but it was still mostly functional. Unit 02 was another matter. There was barely anything left, save a torso and a head. It was a miracle the core still remained intact.

Ritsuko and Misato oversaw it's construction from on high. With every battle since N3I they'd have to scrape up any resources they could spare just to keep their Evas running. Now NERV had dricen them to the point they basically had to stitch them together. It was possible, in theory, to create a new Evangelion from scratch but that would require salvaging a new core from one of the Nemesis Series, and there was no way they were attempting that without an active Unit.

"The project is proceeding at a steady rate." Ritsuko said as the engineers did their best to repair and replace Unit 02's armor. "As long as we don't have to deal with any more attacks, it should be ready in approximately 73 days." "So in other words, around 150 days minimum." Misato quipped. "Think it'll be ready before NERV tries to set off another Impact?" "It'll have to be," Ritsuko said grimly, "If that day comes and 0802 isn't ready, I don't like our chances." Misato shook her head. "I've already made plans for that. I've had some of our lab technicians working after hours, making significant upgrades to Unit 01. It should help improve the Units energy output, bolstering our engines, and our defences. If all else fails, we'll deploy it against NERV's forces."

Ritsuko gave the Captain an odd look. "And you didn't think to tell me this until now?" "Of course," Misato said, "You'd do everything you could to stop me." Ritsuko exhaled, and a long jet of cigarette smoke poured out into the observation room. "Well, you're not entirely wrong." she said, "I'm curious why you decided to go through with this though. We don't even know if Asuka or Mari will be able to pilot it. And for all we know, Eva 01 could turn on us the moment we let it out of the main engine." Misato knew this well. Now that they knew Yui Ikari was inside Unit 01, the Evangelion seemed more dangerous than it ever had before. The woman's motives were still a mystery but she was the wife of their sworn enemy. If she managed to hijack control of Unit 01, god only knew what she would do. "I know Ritsuko," she said, "But we're running out of options. We need to be ready for any eventuality. If there's any signs of the pilot losing control or the Unit awakening, then we'll send it as deep into NERV HQ as we can and activate it's self destruct sequence." The Vice Captain didn't look convinced. "Understand that this is my last resort Ritsuko," she sighed, "If we ever get to the point we need to deploy Unit 01, we're as good as dead anyway."

An awkward silence hung over the pair as they contemplated their future. "What about the pilots?" Misato asked, thankfully breaking the silence. "Think they'll be ready when the time comes?" The Doctor nodded as she went through her notes. "We've been putting them through a schedule designed to prepare them for the Eva's Dual Entry System." she explained. "They'll be spending as much time together as possible and be put through a number of co-operation focused exercises." "Good," Katsuragi said, "Make sure to keep me up to date on their progress." As they watched the foundry workers scurry about the place like ants, Misato felt compelled to ask if the obvious question. "How do you think they'll handle it?"

"Those two?" Ritsuko snarked, "They'll probably bite each others heads off."

* * *

Shinji felt the wind rush past his head as he narrowly avoided a punch from his Sensei. "You're getting better," Mr Clarke said, weaving to the side as his student tried to kick his leg out from under him, "But there's still room for improvement." Shinji backed away as the old man feigned a right hook, then moved in and threw a jab at his face, barely missing him. "You need to work on your speed for one. If I was trying, you'd be nursing a bloody nose." "And if I was trying," Shinji quipped, "There'd be a human shaped dent in the wall." He threw a heymaker at his teacher, which the man dodged with ease. Mr Clarke scoffed. "Strength isn't everything lad, especially when you can't hit your target." Shinji lunged at the man but Wilson ducked under him, and smacked him upside the head. "And you still can't defend your flank to save your life."

The boy grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. His Sensei came at him with a series of quick punches that were tricky to predict. Shinji just about managed to weave his way around the old man's strikes before a wild swing caught him in the cheek, and he fell backwards banging his head against the wall. He yelped in pain as he landed hard on his backside. "That shouldn't have got you." Mr Clarke said as he pulled the teen to his feet. "Is something bothering you? You seem a little distracted." "Kinda..." Shinji said as he got back on his feet. "Alright," the old man said, heading for the living room, "Let's take a quick break."

Shinji sipped from a warm cup of black coffee as he sat back in an armchair that felt like it was barely holding together. He'd never really cared for the bitter taste of coffee, but there was no milk after much of the Earths fauna had been wiped out, and the slums didn't have the resources to make soy milk, so he had to settle for a generous helping of sugar. "So Kenji, what's on your mind right now?" The boy sighed to himself as he gazed deep into his cup. "It's Ren." he said. The ageing man smiled knowingly. "I thought so. Young love clouding your mind is it?" "Not quite," Shinji replied, "It's more that, I'm scared of losing her." Wilson shook his head in disbelief. "It's a little early to think about that isn't it? I mean she's only 16." "I'm serious!" Shinji replied, "It's happened to me before." Mr Clarke sat back, and got comfortable. "Go on lad." he said, and Shinji took a deep breath and began his story.

"I've haven't had a lot of luck with relationships." he began, "My first girlfriend only knew each other for a few months bit it changed my life; it made me feel like I belonged, like it was alright to just be myself you know." He stared down at his feet as he thought back to the day of Zeruel's attack. "But then something happened, and I couldn't be there for her when she needed me. I tried to save her but all I did was get even more people hurt. I never saw her again..."

Wilson opened his mouth to say something but Shinji cut him off. "There's more." he said. "Before I came to Elysium, there was someone else." Mr Clarke nodded silently. He had already prepared himself for a long sit down. "After I lost my girlfriend there was this boy. All of my friends turned on me after I got them hurt but he was different; he gave me comfort, tried to help me. We only had about a week together but, I think I loved him..." Mr Clarke said nothing. He was a traditionalist but he saw no value in judging people for who they loved. "He told me there was a way I could make it up to my friends, but in the end it all went wrong, and he ended up dying, just to save me..."

The dark brown liquid rippled as tears dripped into Shinji's cup. "I'm... I'm afraid Sensei. I've lost so many people already. I don't want to lose Ren, or Kaito, Himari, Aki, or anyone else." The elderly gentleman got up from his chair and looked his pupil in the eye. "We all have to deal with loss sooner or later boy." he said softly, "When I came to this country I had only meant it to be a short holiday. I always intended to come back to England. But fate had other plans, and I woke up one morning to find out my whole nation had taken beneath the sea, in a maelstrom the likes of which mankind hadn't seen in centuries." Shinji looked up at the man, his eyes glistening. "I lost everything: my wife, my family, and my home. But I kept on living, because it wasn't worth it to lay down and die when I knew I could start again." He offered the boy his hand, which Shinji took without a word. "And in the end, it turned out a few of my old friends survived. The world had seen the calamity approaching, and a few thousand Britons were evacated to America and Europe just before the disaster hit them. Last I heard they were living at sea, aboard some massive freighter the UN had built for them. Over The Rainbow I think it was called." Shinji gave him a confused look. "So you're saying?" "What I'm saying Kenji." the old man replied, stroking his moustache, "Is that loss is unavoidable. The key is to enjoy what you have while it lasts, and to not dwell too long on what you lose, but be thankful for what you gain, and what you still have." Shinji gave the man a weak smile. "Better?" Wilson asked. "A little." the boy replied. "Thank you Mr Clarke. I'll try and remember what you said." "Good lad."

There was a knock at the door, and Wilson was greeted by a familiar face. "Oh, good evening Himari." he said, checking his watch, "Is it that time already?" "Good evening Mr Clarke." she said back, "I'm afraid I need to take Kenji back early tonight. Something has happened." She sounded very concerned. "What's wrong? Shinji asked as he stepped out the door. Himari took him by the hand. "Come with me..."

She led him through the alleyways of the slums, keeping to the shadows and pulling back at any signs of life. "Himari, what's going on?" She put her finger to his lips. "Shh." she whispered, "Itachi's men are in town again." The two kept their heads though as she led him back to the farm. The first thing he noticed when they got there was an armored van, brightly lit, with Hiroki standing in front of about a dozen armed men. The second thing, was that the pipes running to the farm, and the water dispensers, had all run dry. The two of them ducked behind a rusted shack as Hiroki began to speak.

"Attention citizens." Hiroki announced, "Effective immediately, our esteemed Mayor, Mr Ginjiro Itachi has decided to cut of all fresh water to areas outside of the city walls. The crowd was in an uproar. Countless men, women and children begged them to show mercy. Without the water from the city's purification plant, they were facing certain death. A few people tried to get at Hiroki, but his men sent them scurrying back, firing a hail of bullets into the air. "The Mayor sincerely regrets that his hand has been forced in such a way, and as an act of mercy has agreed to return water to your village, on one condition."

The thug pulled out a sheet of paper. Looking through her binoculars, Himari could see that it was a photograph pf a young man. Just as she feared, the picture was of Shinji. "Turn over the boy known as Kenji Rokubungi," Hiroki said, "And all will be forgiven. You have until midnight tomorrow to make your decision." With that, the hired goons got back in their van, and drove back behind the wall.

There was a dreadful silence as the townsfolk stood there in disbelief, their futures now seeming very bleak. And then, the village erupted into a thunderous argument. "We need to find that kid and turn him in now!" one person yelled. "We can't do that!" another said, "He's the one who kept us safe from Itachi and his thugs!" "It's his fault we're in this situation in the first place!" "He was just trying to protect us!" "That doesn't matter! If we don't hand him over we're all doomed!"

"That's enough!" Shinji yelled, stepping out from the shadows, "Things are bad enough, without everyone at each other's throats." One of the villagers glared at him. "Stay out of this kid. You're the one who got us into this mess!" Shinji took a deep breath. "You know what?" he said, "You're right. I did get you guys into this. And I'm also gonna be the one to get you back out." Himari shuddered nervously. She had a feeling she knew what the boy was thinking, and she didn't like it one bit. "Shinji..." she whispered, squeezing his arm. "Oh yeah?" one mam shouted above the crowd, "And what the hell can you do!?" Shinji curled his hand into a fist. "If the Mayor wants me," he said, "Then that's exactly what he'll get. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go behind the wall. I'm going to bring the water back to this village, and teach Ginjiro Itachi a lesson he'll remember for the rest of his life!"

Silence fell on the town again, and then a huge cheer rose up among the people of Elysium as Himari looked on in horror. And in Shinj's mind, he heard the 10th Angel chuckle.

 **"I like the way you think boy."**


	15. The Endless River

**A/N:** A few thing before we get started,

First off, while I was doing research for Chapter 14 I discovered that the 3 different types of Nemesis Series in You Can (Not) Redo are known as Code 4A, B and C, which would make the Shriekers a Type D, not Type B as I called them. As such, Ive decided to go back and correct this error in previous Chapters.

Secondly, no Reader Questions again this week but user Cade300 suggested I started a new paragraph every time the dialogue changes speaker. I've noticed that professional writers tend to do this too so I'll give it a shot this chapter and see what you guys think. If you like it I'll go back and reformat the previous chapters to make them easier to follow.

Finally, with the first part of (Never) Alone nearing it's Third Act I thought I might try writing two stories at once, after I've finished writing Part 1. I'll be releasing a new chapter about once a week for (Never) Alone Part 2 and once every two weeks for the other story. I've put a poll up on my profile, so if you'd like to vote on what you want me to write alongside Part 2, here's the link: u/11227604/Rollinaround#

That's all for now, I hope you enjoy Chapter 15, because things are about to get real.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 15

The Endless River

Shinji's heart was beating like mad as he got dressed that morning. He was walking right into enemy territory today and he could feel his body trembling in fear. He knew that he was probably walking into a trap, and he could only wonder how many guns he'd be facing behind the city walls. But, he'd promised the Mayor would pay for what he'd done, and he wasn't going to back down now. He pulled a hooded sweater over his torso. It was a cold day, and he'd need to keep his face hidden, at least until he got to the water treatment plant. He took a deep breath, and steeled himself as he made his way out the front door, only to be confronted by the Hamasakis.

The boy sighed wearily as Kaito stared into his eyes. He knew this was coming. They'd had a huge fight about it just the night before, and this was the last thing he needed right now. "Look." he said, "I know what you're going to say. I don't want to go in there either, but theres no other way. If I don't finish this now the whole village is gonna starve to death."

Kaito shook his head. "You don't have to do this Shinji." he said, placing his hand on the boys shoulder. "You don't have to put your life on the line for us. We can reason with Itachi."

"Why?" the boy replied, "So he can go back to exploiting you? Beating you senseless when you don't fill your quota?" He knew Kaito cared, but he worried way too much. "Besides, you know he's not going to stop until he gets his hands on me." He stepped past his adoptive family, undeterred. "And I'm going to show him exactly what he's asking for." He felt a hand clasp around his arm and looked behind him to see Himari, holding him back. She'd always been the more understanding one when it came to his battle with the Mayor, but he could tell she was drawing the line here.

"I'm scared for you." she whispered, "And not just for your safety." He felt her hand tighten around him. "I've kept quiet about it before but, I'm worried what all this fighting is going to do to your mind."

The Third Child shook his head in disbelief. "Come on Himari," he said, putting on a smile in a vain attempt to comfort her, "You know me, I'll be fine. You make it sound like I'm gonna turn into a serial killer or something." He tried to pull away from her, but then Aki spoke up.

"Please don't go..." she said, "I don't want to lose my big brother..." Shinji hung his head. The girl was still young, but even she knew he was walking right into the lions den.

"What else can I do?" he whispered. "If I dont go in there we're doomed. The only other thing I can do is turn myself in, and then things will just go back to how they were." Aki stared down at her feet as she searched desperately for an alternative.

"We don't have to stay here." she said, weakly, "We can go somewhere else; we can run away..."

Run away. Those words bore right through him like nothing else could. That did sound like something Shinji Ikari would do. Whenever things got too hard for him, he'd run away and let someone else deal with it. But he wasn't Shinji Ikari anymore. He'd left that old life behind. Kenji Rokubungi didn't run away. He'd see this through to the end, even if it killed him.

"I can't run away." he said, pulling himself free, "Not when all these people are counting on me. I'm going to bring the water back to my village, and make sure Itachi never bothers us again." He turned around, smiling bravely at the people who'd treated him like one of their own. "Don't worry about me, I'll be back. You'll see your big brother again Aki, I promise."

Before he had a chance to leave, the girl ran forward and wrapped her arms around his leg. "Be careful ok?" she said, clinging to her surrogate Brother for as long as he'd let her.

Shinji knelt down and patted the girl on the back. "I will be, ok?" he whispered, "You just be good and wait for me ok? I'll be back in time for dinner."

Aki reluctantly let go of his leg and watched sadly as the boy made his way to the front gate.

* * *

Shinji took a deep breath as he sat in a dark corner, waiting for the morning work shift to begin. A small number of villagers worked behind the wall, mostly in jobs like retail, construction and water plant employees. All of these were, naturally, bottom rung positions and were paid less than the workers who lived within the main city, but in the slums they might as well have been the upper class. He expected the guards to open the gates at 7:30 as usual. If it was a trap, as he suspected, then they would want to give him some way of getting into the inner city. He just had to hope they wouldn't grab him the moment he stepped through the door.

'What do you think?' he asked Zeruel as he waited.

 **"About our plan?"** the Angel replied. **"In all honesty, it is madness to even consider something like this."** Shinji was surprised. The Angel had supported him the night before. **"However, the reality is that Itachi will never stop hunting you as long as you remain here. And I could never allow my enemy to go unchallenged like this."**

'At least somebody has my back in this.' Shinji thought, smiling. 'Asuka would probably be screaming at me and calling me an idiot.'

 **"You do seem to have a talent for unwise decisions"** Zeruel replied, with a hint of wasn't long before Shinji heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. Just as he'd hoped, the morning shift arrived at the gates just on time.

'So, where do we go first: the Mayor's Office or the Water Plant?'

 **"My first instinct is to target the Mayor first."** Zeruel said, **"If we take care of Itachi right away we can depose him, and crush him like an insect."** Shinji had to admit, he liked the sound of that. **"But,"** the Angel continued, **"He will probably be expecting us to attack him, and therefore place his strongest forces around him. If we make for the Treatment Plant, we can hide amongst the workers, and once we take it over, the Mayor may redirect his forces to stop us, leaving him more vulnerable."** That did seem like the more sensible option. **"However, it would also make it considerably more difficult to reach the Mayor's."**

Shinji gritted his teeth as he mulled over his options. One way or the other, they would be fighting an uphill battle. It was like choosing between a firing squad and being trampled. The workers were fast approaching, and he'd have to make up his mind soon. 'I'm going for the Water Plant." he thought, getting up and concealing himself amongst the crowd. 'At least I can bring the water back home, even if I get caught.'

 **"So be it."** Zeruel said as they slipped right past the guards. **"As long as we destroy Itachi afterwards."**

'Don't worry,' his host replied, 'I don't plan on leaving without putting my fist in his face.'

They quietly made their way through the city, thankfully managing to keep his cover even as the crowd began to split into smaller groups, each one heading for their own different workplace. Shinji didn't know if that was thanks to his small stature, or if the guards were just letting him walk into their grasp. A few villagers seemed to recognise him, but thankfully they didn't point him out. Even if they weren't on his side they knew that selling him out could get them shot in the crossfire.

The streets were lined shops, businesses and entertainments, and the immer citizens ,milled about the place, gossiping with friends, fawning over expensive trinkets and making their way to work at a leisurely pace. The buildings stretched high into the sky, appearing to touch the clouds, and the sun reflected over their metal surfaces and solar panels in a faintly pleasant way. For a moment, Elysium reminded Shinji of Tokyo 3; of home,.

The workers began to form a line as they approached the Water Plant. The front door was guarded by two men, holding a pair of assault rifles. Shinji could hide himself amongst the crowd, but now he'd stick out like a sore thumb. He quietly ducked into an alleyway as the workers began to file into the plant; he would look less suspicious on his own. Once the streets were empty again, the boy stepped back out into the opening and made for the plant's entrace, trying to look as casual as possible. "Well well," a guard said, smirking, "What are you doing out here boy? Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"Skipped it." Shinji said as he marched towards them. One of the thugs stepped forward, putting his hand on the boy and pushing him away.

"There something I can help you with kid?" The boy smiled as he looked up at the man, and the thug realized who he was talking to.

"Yes, you can." Shinji said, punching the man in the stomach and bringing him to his knees. "You can stay out of my way." His victim clutched his midriff, letting out a sickly moan before he felt Shinji's foot slam into his face, leaving in a pile on the ground. His partner opened fire on the kid, who just stepped calmly towards the man, the bullets reflecting off an orange barrier. The man swung his rifle in the air, ready to bring it down on the boy's head but Shinji struck him in the jaw with an uppercut. It was a sloppy blow, but strong enough to knock the man out before his feet left the ground.

Shinji Ikari shook his hand out as he opened the front door. Punching another human being was subtly different from punching an Angel in Eva 01. In an Eva, he felt the same sensation the Unit did when it's fist met an Angel's mask but it felt like he was hitting a near invincible monster that could suvive a nuclear missile blast to the face. When he fought a human, his target was just as fragile as he was, the pain in his fists lasted longer, and there was a curious rush of adrenalin from beating his opponent using his own power, without a giant mecha to protect him.

The lobby was a small, barebones room with a receptionist who didn't even look up from her desk. The plant itself was behind a door that required a keycard to open it, but luckily the guards Shinji had beaten up had their own cards with them. The main building was enormous; at least 60 feet tall, with a seemingly endless number of steel catwalks criss-crossing over each other as they rose higher and higher above him until they simply disappeared into the darkness. The walls were lined with dozens upon dozens of clear pipes, carrying red, corrupted water into the Treatment Plant and pure, untainted water back into the city.

Shinji crept his way through the corridors of the plant's ground floor, making use of his small stature to duck into the little nooks and crannies and worm his way under the pipes whenever he saw a plant employee approach him. He was trying to find a worker he recognised from the slums. As gung ho as he was about this, he didn't exactly know where he was going and he'd need someone he could trust to give him directions. He did his best to keep his breathing under control as he snuck about the second floor, sticking to the shadows. His heart was beating so hard he thought it might give him away every time an employee passed by. His patience was eventually rewarded when he peeked out of the darkness to see a worker from the slums, heading right for him.

"Hey," the boy whispered, "Can you give me a hand?" The man almost leapt out of his overalls in shock. "It's ok." Shinji said, "It's just me. I'm not here to cause any trouble, I just wanna know where I can turn on the water pipe to our village." The man took a moment to catch his breath.

"The Water Control Room is on floor 7," he said, "Third corridor near the back. It's the room with all the fresh water pipes coming out of it, you can't miss it."

Shinji nodded in appreciation as he slipped back into weaved his way through the tight corridors and stairways, approaching his target, slowly and carefully. Once or twice he thought about crossing the catwalk and using his strength to leap from floor to floor. But he didn't know if he was strong enough, and the plant workers would notice. Better to play it safe and stick to what was working for him.

Or so he thought.

Just when the 5th floor's staircase was in his sights he heard the sound of footsteps heading his way. With limited options for hiding places, he wormed his way under one of the pipelines and laid still, holding his breath. Unfortunately the space was top small and tight to fit his whole body, and he was forced to leave one of his arms out in the open, praying the worker would be too distracted to notice, a choice he quickly came to regret when he felt his fingers squeezed between boot and metal, and a high pitched shriek echoed through the facility.

Blinded by pain, Shinji grabbed the guy's ankle and pulled him to the ground. Before the man even knew what was going on the hooded vigilante climbed on top of him and pinned him to the floor, covering the worker's mouth. "You say one word about this and you'll regret it!" Shinji hissed, his voice shaking with anger and fear, "I'll beat you like you've never been beaten before, do you understand?" The man said nothing, he was still trying to process what was going on. Shinji struck the ground beside him, leaving a dent in the floor. "Do you understand!?"

"Yes, yes I understand!" he croaked, his body shaking beneath the boy, "Just please don't hurt me!"

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Shinji leapt off the innocent worker and rushed up the stairs. He continued his journey to Floor 7, staying in the darkness but moving faster, taking more risks. There was no way he'd gone unheard, and he'd need to get in and out as fast as possible, just in case someone called the guards. Finally, he arrived at floor 7, and it wasn't long before he spotted a corridor lined with transparent water pipes, each carrying pure, clean water.

The Control Room was perhaps the darkest part of the whole facility, illuminated solely by the lights eminating from the computer dominating the room. The only other human inside was a lone worker, directing the flow of water and distributing across the plant and city. He went down easily, taken out by a lariat from behind. "Sorry." Shinji whispered.

The display was fairly simple: one screen showed all the water tanks in the Treatment Plant, ten interconnected circles, in the same pattern as the ones in the marine facility. At the top was Kether, containing the purest, most high quality water in Elysium (naturally flowing straight to the Mayors Office) at the bottom was Malchuth, containing the unpurified ichor from the world outside, and just above that was Yesod, the facilities main purification tank. The screen beside showed all the districts of Elysium, how much water they received, and from where.

The rest of the screens were given of to statistics, progress reports and of course the controls. Redirecting the water flow looked surprisingly easy, and a broad grin spread across Shinji's face as a wicked idea formed in his mind. Taking a seat in front of the keyboard, he quickly got to work, redirecting the water from Kether into the slums, and the undrinkable bile from Malchutch right to Itachi's office. 'I can't wait to see the look on his face!' he thought as he slipped out the door.

The facility was eerily silent as he made his way downstairs. He noticed fewer and fewer employees as he made his way back down, until he got to the 4th floor, and found it completely empty. 'This doesn't feel right...'

His fears were realized a moment later, just as he approached the staircase to Floor 3, a door creaked open and about a dozen of Itachi's thugs stepped out, all of them heavily armed, even with all his strength, Shinji knew he couldn't fight that many men head on. He wheeled around and ran for the catwalk, with the sound of gunfire just behind him as countless bullets rattled off the steel floor. They must have been ordered to take him alive. He darted over the catwalk, hoping to perhaps lead them in a circle and make a path for the stairs. That plan was scrapped before it even began, as a second door swung open and out stepped another guard patrol, led by a man with his hair tied in a long ponytail.

"Ok kid," he said, his voice sounding tired and put-upon, "That's as far as you go." He took a step closer, and Shinji assumed a defensive stance on instinct. "So you're the one who's been causing all the fuss around town lately, huh? You can drop the tough guy act by the way; I understand you can only shield yourself for a few seconds and killing someone your age would leave a bad taste in my mouth."

'Great,' Shinji thought, clenching his fists in frustration, 'Looks like another of Itachi's ringleaders, as if Hiroki wasn't bad enough.' "Who the hell are you?" he growled.

"Akira Kimura." the man said matter-of-factly, "Head of Mayor Itachi's Intelligence Agency. Now, if it's not too much trouble you'll be leaving with us. Come quietly and I'll see that you are left unharmed." Shinji grinned beneath his hood. How stupid did the guy think he was? "You don't have many options," Akira said, "It's a thirty foot drop from her to the ground floor I doubt even you could survive that."

Shinji stared down at the ground floor, racking his brain to find a way out of this. Je could probably survive the fall if he used his A.T Field, but he knew he'd likely be knocked out on impact, his fall from the cliffside had taught him that much. But then he remembered something, an idea from earlier that seemed fruitless at the time, but if reversed...

"Thirty feet, probably." he said, gradually stepping backwards as Akira shot him a perplexed look. "Eight feet though..." In the blink of an eye the boy hopped over the railing, and his hood slid down, giving Kimura a split second look at his face before the teen disappeared from sight, landing safely on the catwalk below. The Intelligence Officer quickly ordered his men to give chase. The kid was something else, and for a moment, he swore he'd seen him somewhere.

Shinji had managed to avoid injury by deploying his barrier before he landed but the impact of the fall brought him to his knees, giving the guards time to gain ground on him. He charged down the next cpuple floors, staying just ahead of Akira and his goons until he reached the ground floor again. Freedom seemed mere moments away when Hiroki leapt from the shadows, machine gun in hand. "Say goodnight asshole!"

Shinji felt his heart stop for a moment as time seem to move in slow motion. There was a good ten feet between him and Hiroki. Even if he launched himself forward he couldn't reach the thug before his A.T Field petered out. He had to think of something, and fast.

He never got the chance.

Before the boy could take even another step, he felt something sharp stick in his neck. His vision turned blurry, and everything around him sounded muted as he lost all muscle control, and fell to the floor.

"Kimura, what the hell!?" Hiroki shouted as the boy's vision began to fade, "That was my kill and you know it!"

"What do you have rocks in your brain?" Akira fired back, "You heard the boss, he's to be taken in alive!"

The two argued on and on in the background as Shinji lay on the floor, his heart beating slowly as the tranquilizer sapped his strength, until he quietly passed out.


	16. Tumbling Down

Evangelion

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 16

Tumbling Down

Shinji Ikari woke up to find himself in darkness, gazing up at the ceiling of a small, concrete cell. The last thing he remembered was Hiroki springing out of nowhere with a gun pointed at his head. Now here he lay, in a cold, damp room, far from his village, and far from Itachi.

Or so he thought.

There was the sound of metal dragging against metal, and a single ray of light lit up the room as the Mayor of Elysium strode in, accompanied by Hiroki. "I see you're up bright and early." he said in a faux cheerful tone, with a superior smirk on his face. "How do you like the guest room; comfy enough for ya?"

Shinji shot the man an evil look as he rose to his feet. "I guess so," he said, wrapping his fingers around the steel bars, "Not the very secure though. Anybody could get in, or out." He pulled on the bars with all his strength and they soon gave way, until there was a hole big enough for him to walk through. Itachi just smiled as the boy lunged at the man, only to be stopped in his tracks by a flickering barrier; an A.T Field.

The Mayor chuckled as his enemy crashed into the force field. "Ah c'mon, what's the rush? Just sit down, relax! You're gonna be here for a while." Shinji gritted his teeth, summoning his own barrier and digging his fingers into the A.T Field in a vain attempt to break through it. Itachi just shook his head and pulled a remote out of his jacket. "I said sit. Down!" A painful tingling feeling ran through Shinji's body, making his body go limp. He felt his head bash against the concrete, and his body felt numb for a few seconds.

"Not bad huh?" the Mayor said as his prisoner slowly regained control of his body. "Just a couple little toys I picked up from my cities many business partners." Shinji felt around his neck. He was wearing some kind of shock collar. He couldn't see it but it felt similar in design to the DSS Choker. "That's right kid," Itachi said, grinning maliciously, "You're not going anywhere, not for a long time." He chuckled to himself as he paced back and forth, keeping his eyes locked with Shinji's the whole time.

Shinji just smirked at the man. "Do what you like to me." he said, "I've dealt with worse." The boy stood tall, glowering at the man. "I've been boiled alive, stabbed through both my hands, impaled in the chest and I've been shot more times then I can remember. And I've lived through all of it. You may have me for now, but I'll get out. I'm not going to let a small time thug like you kill me."

The smile faded from Itachi's face. "What did you call me you little shit?" Shinji pressed himself against the cell's A.T Field, his face inches away from Itachi's.

"I said, you're small time."

300 volts coursed through Shinji's body, sending him crashing to the floor again. He could block a hail of gunfire with nothing but a thought but no A.T Field could block an electric shock at point blank. "You got a real death wish don'tcha kid?" The Mayor snarled, tucking the remote into his suit, "No matter. You're not the one I'm gonna hurt, yet. You see I got big plans for you, and I got just the thing to keep you in line." The Mayor pulled out a walkie talkie, and the look on his face was like a hyena who'd cornered a gazelle. "Bring her in."

The door slid open, and a familiar voice echoed through the prison. "Let me go!" the girl shrieked as the suit dragged her into the room, throwing her onto the cold, hard floor. "You jerks are gonna pay for this!" Aki said, "My big brother's gonna beat the hell out of you!"

The mayor laughed in the child's face. "Oh he's gonna be beating someone," he said, smiling broadly, like he held all the answers, "But it's not gonna be me." He pulled the young girl up by her hair, and she screamed in pain as Itachi pressed a gun barrel to his cheek. "I'll make this easy to understand." he said, "You're gonna do whatever I say or I'm gonna blow a big hole in this little sweetheart's face." His voice was like sugarcoated venom as he spoke. Shinji slammed his body against the barrier to no avail, his eyes full of rage.

"I'll kill you for this you slimy bastard!" The mayor just smirked at him.

"You'll die trying." Itachi struck the girl with the handle of his gun, and Aki fell to the ground, out cold. Shinji beat his fists against the A.T Field but it was simply too strong. "Oh and bye the way, if you do try to disobey me I've got Mommy and Daddy dearest locked up in here too. I'll kill the whole damn village if I have to." He checked his watch, and his eyes sparkled as he stared back at his prisoner. "Well, I'd like to stay and chat, I haven't got the time. We've got to get you ready for your debut."

Before Shinji could ask what he meant, that horrible, stinging pain filled his body again. He clawed at the collar with all his strength but the electric shocks weakened his body. The torture went on seemingly forever before he finally gave out, and everything went black.

"Sleep well, runt."

* * *

Shinji Ikari was woken from his slumber by the sound of a hundred cheering voices. His vision was blurry, and all he could see was a faint, colorful mess surrounding him.

He heard the voice of a young woman across the room from him. "Where am I?" she said, "What's going on?"

Her voice was horse and frightened, and Shinji knew he'd heard it somewhere before. Slowly, the world around him grew clearer and he could finally see where the Mayor had taken him. He was standing on a wide, metal stage, surrounded by a steel cage with no door. Outside the stage sat an audience made up of the elite men and woman of Elysium, dressed in the finest fashions available in the Post Impact world. They sipped from glasses of wine, gorged themselves on luxury snacks, and watched the pair intently, like they were in some kind of circus. A stone skybox protruded from the wall, high above the crowd, and Shinji had a good idea who was watching them. He looked back at the women he was sharing the stage with. He recognised her from the farm. They rarely talked, but she was a nice enough person and had never given the boy trouble.

As the two sat there, wondering what Itachi had in store for them, the voice of the Mayor echoed around the room. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he said, mimicking an announcer at a boxing event, "Welcome to tonights entertainment. We've got one hell of a fight here for you tonight. In one corner, the strongest kid in Elysium, the dumbass whi thought he could mess with Ginjiro Itachi, the one and only Kenji Rokubungi!" The crowd booed Shinji as he pulled himself to his feet. He tried to used the bars of the cage for leverage, but was stopped by another A.T Field. "And in the other corner, from the dregs of Elysium's slum district, Keiko Yamagishi!" The boos flowed across the arena as Itachi chuckled. "Who ever loses, it's a win for us! Let the match begin!"

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Keiko looked frightened, but she clearly didn't want to fight. Really, to even call it a fight was an exaggeration. Shinji knew what this was. He wasn't here to fight, he was here to beat up an innocent for the Mayors amusement. Shinji clenched his fists and sat down. And he was rewarded with a shock from the collar around his neck.

"These people didn't pay to watch you sit on your ass kid!" Itachi growled as the boy writhed on the floor in pain, "Get in there and fight!"

Shinji glared up at the skybox with fury in his eyes. It like like every nerve in his body was on fire. He could barely move with over 100 volts coursing through his body. His mind was screaming at him to just give up but he wasn't going to give this scumbag the satisfaction of being his toy. He shook his head violently, and Itachi turmed up the voltage

"Do it ya little shit!" he screamed as Shinji clawed at the concrete floor, trying desperately to drag himself back to his feet, "Or did ya forget about lil Aki!?"

Shinji's knuckles turned white as his fingers dug into his palms. He was trapped he couldn't bring himself to hurt the woman in front of him but he couldn't let them kill mind was racing, searching desperately for a way out of this nightmare with no exit in sight. **"What are you doing?"** Zeruel said as It's host forced himself back onto his knees, **"Get up and fight."**

'I can't!' Shinji thought. The thought of hurting Ms Yamagishi was unbearable yet, without even meaning too, he found himself shambling forward. There was no other way out. He knew it, but hecouldn't accept it. 'I'm not going to hurt an innocent human being!' The 10th Angel was unimpressed.

 **"Don't be a fool."** It said coldly, **"Of course you can fight her, because you don't have any other choice. We can still get out of here, and crush Itachi, but right now we have no other option but to fight the Lilin woman."** Keiko Yamagishi backed up against the walls as Shinji stepped closer, his long hair hiding his face, barely even aware of what he was doing amongst the turmoil inside his mind. **" I don't understand; your way of thinking is highly illogical and hypocritical: you waste time clinging to a fatuous moral code that you've already broken."** Shinji gritted his teeth. **"You speak as if you've never taken an innocent life before but in reality, you've killed millions of Lilin, many of which you never even met."**

'I didn't hurt them!' the boy protested, 'I had no control over that, I didn't know what I was doing!'

 **"And yet they are dead all the same."** Zeruel said. **"And what of your friend, Asuka Shikinami?"** Shinji's footsteps became heavier, and more deliberate. His blood pressure was beginning to rise. **"When you foolishly pulled the Spears from Lilith, despite everyone's objections, you struck her and left her for dead while she was forced to fight for her life against the Mark 09."**

'Shut up...' Shinji hissed.

 **"And that wasn't even he first time you hurt her."** the Angel said, almost mockingly, **"When one of my brethren took over Unit 03 you had the chance to stop it, perhaps even save the girl, and yet you did nothing."** With access to all the lowest moments of Shinji's life, Zeruel could wound him in ways few others could. **"You put your own life, the fate of your entire race in jeopardy because you were too weak to fight and risk hurting the girl, and in the end, you only hurt her worse, all for the sake of your nebulous morals."**

'You talk like my Dad...' Shinji spat back, standing mere inches from Keiko Yamagishi, his breathy loud and panicked.

 **"Perhaps I do."** Zeruel said, **"But, in that moment, your Father was right."**

 **'** SHUT UP!'

Everything went red as the boy lashed out, blinded by his own anger; anger at Zeruel, anger at Itachi, anger at the horrible world that had forced him into this situation. Anger at his own, useless self.

When his senses returned he found himself standing over Keiko Yamagishi. She was clutching at her stomach, groaning in pain as she lay on the cold hard floor. Shinji's knuckles were sore, and there was a noticeable dent in the cage where he had struck the woman. Shinji stood there, frozen in place, his eyes wide in horror. "I- I'm sorry..." he whispered. His voice was trembling. He barely had time to come to terms with what he'd done before the Mayor's voice echoed through the room again.

"What are you waiting for?" he said, "Hit her again!" The boy shook his head frantically.

 **"Do it!"** Zeruel told him as the crowd watched with baited breath, **"You know what will happen if you don't."**

Shinji didn't want to. He didn't want anything to do with this. He wanted to just curl up in a ball and disappear forever. But he couldn't let them hurt his family. They'd done so much for him already, he couldn't let them die for him. He kicked the woman in the stomach and she screamed in pain. "I'm sorry." the teen whispered, "I'm so, so sorry..." The crowd watched expectantly, and he heard nothing from Itachi. He kicked her again. No word from the Mayor. The bastard was going to drag this out as long as he could. He continued to kick at poor Keiko over and over with no end in sight, until finally he kicked her in the face. The audience fell deathly silent. All anyone could hear was the pained howling of the woman he'd been forced to assault. Tears streamed from Keiko's eyes as the blood dripped onto the concrete.

The crowd began to boo him. They had come here to see him brutally beat somebody, he'd given them what they wanted and now they had the nerve to boo him for it. People began to throw their garbage at the cell. Chip packets bounced off the metal bars. Glasses shattered against the cage, scattering broken shards that scratched Shinji's face as they flew at him from all sides. Still no word from Itachi. He turned to stare at one of the Mayor's thugs, guarding the arena exit. The man stared at him coldly, reaching inside his jacket and giving Shinji a glimpse of his handgun. They still wanted more out of him. The booing echoed around him, drilling into his already fragile mind. They'd made him do this, they'd forced him to do this and when he finally gave them what they wanted they hated him for it, like everyone else in this stupid, unfair world!

Shinji kicked the woman again, and again. And again and again, striking her in the stomach, the ribs, the face, everywhere. By the time he was done, the two of them were a complete mess. Keiko's face was covered in blood, like a mask she was badly bruised, and she seemed barely able to stand. Shinji's breathing was labored and erratic, and tears streaked from his eyes as he shuddered uncontrollably. The crowd was silent. Many of them were N3I survivors and had seen some horrible things in the early days of the Post Impact world, but few of them had ever witnessed such a brutal, primal beatdown. The unbearable quiet hung over the arena for god only knows how long, before finally Mayor Itachi's voice echoed over them.

"That's the show for tonight everybody!" he said cheerfully, as if he hadn't just watched an innocent woman get beaten half to death. "I hope you all had a good night. Come back tomorrow night at the same time to see if another lucky contender can knock this brat off his perch!." Shinji felt like one of his veins was about to burst. This worthless bastard had just put him through hell, and now he thought he could do it all again the next day? The boy leapt at the walls of the steel cage, trying desperately to grab hold of the bars and pull himself out the top. But the A.T Field kept him from getting a solid grip, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't climb his way out. But even so, Shinji flung himself against the wall again and again, desperately trying to force his way out before he felt the electricity surge through him again, and once again, everything went black.

* * *

From there, every night was the same: Shinji would be dragged into the arena, along with some poor sap from the slums, and neither of them were let out until Shinji had beaten his opponent bloody. The villagers never won of course, though he could hardly call himself a winner for being forced to brutalise another human being. Still, the audience kept coming in the hopes that they might finally see the boy get what they thought was coming to him. Itachi had done a fine job of painting him as a violent psychopath, who lived for the suffering of others.

And when it was all done, he was dragged away to a filthy cell, with noone but Zeruel for company. If Shinji was lucky, the Angel would go on and on about how the people he'd hurt were "necessary sacrifices" and how he needed to bear the pain, until the time came to turn the tables on Itachi and seize their victory. If he was unlucky, he would be berated endlessly about how soft he was, how he was too weak to get the job done and how he let his emotions get in the way of his goal.

But out of all those things, it was the not knowing that hurt most of all. He didn'tknow how much time had passed, as the days and weeks blended together. He had no idea how long the fights would go on, or what lay at the end of them. He didn't know if the Hamasakis were still alive, or even cared about him any more. He couldn't say what was happening to the other villagers after he'd been forced to beat them to a pulp. He didn't know what was happening in the outside world, or what the future held for him or humanity, or if he'd every see the sun again. All he could do was wonder.

And the things his broken, tortured mind imagined, chilled him to his very core.

* * *

Harsh winds blew across the lonely scarlet wastes of the Post Impact world, carrying the red dust on the breeze as the mighty AAA Wunder soared through the air. Far off on the horizon, a lone figure rose over the mountainside, marching towards WILLE's famous airship slowly, but with purpose. The monster was as tall as a skyscraper. It's arms and back formed a silver arch, and the core in it's chest gleamed in the morning sun. The eyes in it two masks shone for a moment, before a beam of light streaked across the sky. The Wunder effortlessly swooped under the beasts laser, then with the sound of grinding metal, the cargo bay doors opened and a pair of brightly colored giants fell to the earth, kicking up a wave of rust colored sand. "Try to keep up with me this time Four Eyes!" Captain Shikinami said, pulling out a double bladed spear.

Unit 08 just shrugged it's shoulders as it took out a sniper rifle and aimed it right at the Angels core. "As long as you don't run in like a maniac, Princess~" A deafening bang echoed across the wasteland as the Angel was struck in the core by a heavy metal spike. Though classed as a sniper rifle, Mari's weapon of choice was more like a portable railgun in practice and a direct hit to the core would have been enough to kill most Angels with a single shot.

But this creature wasn't like most Angels.

Instead of shattering like it was supposed to, the Angel's core split right through the middle and there was a sickening crunch as the monster pulled itself in two. The two halves transformed in front of Mari's eyes, each forming a smaller copy of it's main body; one colored a rusty orange, the other a dull grey. "This is where it gets fun." Mari said, putting away her rifle and taking out a Thunder Spear: a medium range flechette gun with a lasert bayonet.

"Finally we agree on something." Asuka said, advancing on the beasts with her spear aimed at the orange one's core. "Too bad this will be over in less than a minute!" The orange giant swung at Unit 02 but the Pilot easily reflected the blow with a swing from her polearm.

"That's what you said last time Princess." Mari replied, leaping into the air and firing half a dozen flechettes at the grey Angel's feet, forcing it to leap to the side, towards it's partner. While the Angel was split in two, it was nigh indestructible. Both cores had to be destroyed at the same time. If only a single core was destroyed it would quickly reform, and the monster would get right back up. The plan was to force the Angel back together and attack both cores in the time it took for them to fuse together.

Unit 02 stepped to the side and thrust the shaft of her weapon at the orange one's mask. The creature caught the steel pole with little effort but Asuka had anticipated that. Using the spear's shaft as leverage, Unit 02 pulls itself up and slammed both it's feet into the Angel's chest, sending it flying. On the other side of the battlefield, Mari knocked the grey one aside with her bayonet before charging at her target and emptying an entire clip into it's chest at point black. The hail of flechettes pushed the creature back several feet, until it collided with it's partner and fused back into it's original form. Asuka, being the closer of the two pilots, leapt at the Angel with her spear held high above Unit 02's head.

"Wait!" Mari yelled, "I need to reload!"

The spear's blade plunged into the core on the right, leaving behind a huge web of cracks. But the other core remained intact, and Unit 02's spear was forced out of its target as it swifly repaired itself. A hail of metal darts buried themselves in the core on the left, but it was too late; it too reformed a moment later, and the twin cores melded together. The fusion was complete, and Asuka found herself standing toe to toe with the silver giant.

"Oh Hölle..."

Never one to give up on a fight, Asuka split her sprea into two swords, thrusting them at the Angel's core in an attempt to start the process over. But her target blasted her with a cross shaped burst of pure energy, vaporising Unit 02. Mari took out her sniper rifle and tried to lined up her sights with the core but she knew full well that the battle was lost, and she was blown away before she had a chance to pull the trigger.

"Dammit!" Asuka screamed, beating her fist against the simulator, "Dammit, dammit, dammit! What the hell is even the point of this!? All the Angels are dead! And even if they weren't, what are the odds we're gonna fight something ridiculous like that!?"

Maya Ibuki shook her head in frustration as the other pilot took off her headset. They'd done this simulation no less than 7 times and they were getting nowhere. "This isn't about preparing for an Angel attack." she grumbled, "It's about getting the two of you in sync. You have to be able to keep your sync scores at the same level in order for the Twin Plug System to function. If you can't do that then our new Eva Unit is as good as useless."

"Well don't look at me!" Shikinami shot back. "It's not my fault that Four Eyes can't keep up with me!" The Pilot of Unit 08 stared daggers at her partner as the furious redhead pointed an accusing finger in her direction.

"Don't blame me Princess!" she said, getting up in Asuka's face, "I told you I needed time to reload. If you'd taken half a second to listen to me we would have had that!"

"The cores would have fused by then! I didn't have time to wait on some slacker who can't reload her weapon fast enough!"

"Bullshit! I had plenty of time to reload! It was your fault for rushing in like that!"

Maya buried her face in her palm as the two Pilots insisted on playing the blame game. Asuka and Mari seldom fought like this but when they did, it seemed to go on forever. "Just relax everybody." she groaned as the technicians began to back away from the shrieking redheads, "The kids are just tired..."

They were right about one thing though: the battle lasted less than a minute.

* * *

Black smoke rose over Lilin Outpost 7 as huge fragments of reinforced steel littered the area. The AAA Wunder hung over the settlement like a Kestrel hovering above it's hunting grounds, and indeed there had been quite a hunt. The land was strewn with shattered artillery, human corpses, and a number of Evangelion Mark 04s. There had been a Nemesis attack not 3 days ago, one that the outpost had just barely survived, thanks to the intervention of Katsuragi and her crew. They had taken quite a beating in the efforts to protect Outpost 7: the ship had sustined moderate blast damage and multiple warships and Hellhound Jets had been lost in battle. The settlement was in no position to provide repairs, and it was at least a week's flight to the nearest Lilin Outpost. They were in a tight spot. But before they could take care of that, the Captain needed to speak with her Pilots

"7 simulations, 7 failures..." Misato said as her monitor replayed the mock Angel attack. "No matter how many tests we run we're still no closer to getting our Pilots in sync." Said Pilots glared at each other as they stood side by side in the ship's bridge.

"To be fair, they did better than last time." Hideki said, ever the devil's advocate. His input was not appreciated.

"Doing better is not the same as succeeding, Tama!" The Second Engineer quickly returned to his work, now twice as shy.

"I still say it's Four Eyes' fault for not keeping up with me..." The German Pilot grumbled. Her supposed comrade opened her mouth to say something but their Captain was not in the mood for another catfight, and she silenced the both of them, slamming her fist against the console.

"Will you stop it!?" she yelled. "We need you both to be able to pilot as soon as the new Evangelion is ready! We don't have time to waste on the two of you squabbling like bratty children!" Asuka shrank back, her pride savagely wounded. "If we're ever going to see the end of this war then we need you to be on the same page, and shofting the blame onto one another is not going to help anyone!" The Children stared down at the floor in shame. Katsuragi felt less like she was disciplining two soldiers and more like she was breaking up a family argument. "Now we've got that out of the way," she said, "We have some more pressing matters to discuss." She turned to address her crew as a whole.

"With Outpost 7 in the state it's in, we have to find another option for resupplying the Wunder. And with Outpost 19 several days away, I have elected t8 send a group to Elysium, to deal with Ginjiro Itachi."

"Elysium? What's that?" asked Midori, the youngest and most inexperienced of the bridge crew. First Engineer Takao rolled his eyes.

"Geeze kid, were you even awake for orientation?"

"Excuse me if I didn't major in Geometry." Midori grumbled as she took out a post-it note and began furiously scribbling.

"Elysium," Misato explained, "Is a large city a few miles from Outpost 7, and the closest human settlement to the ruins of Tokyo 3. They've refused to ally themselves with WILLE so far which, allegedly, is why NERV hasn't wiped them out." The woman breathed in through her nose as she remembered the last time she'd had to deal with Itachi. "Their Mayor is... not a generous man," she said, keeping her real thoughts to herself, "And I have been told the lesser classes are treated poorly, but, they produce some powerful munitions, and have a water treatment plant, giving them easier access to clean drinking water and giving them a greater quantity and quality of food."

Midori was dubious. "So, why doesn't WILLE just take over the place?" she said. "I mean if they have all this cool stuff, and they're dicks to us and their poor, wouldn't it be easier to run the place ourselves?" The Captain shook her head.

"It's not as simple as that." said Ritsuko. "The United Nations forbids us from invading independent settlements without proper cause. If we take over the city against the will of it's people, we could have to deal with civilian uprisings and end up wasting valuable resources. The only way we can takeover with the UN's blessing is if they are actively hostile to WILLE or aligned with NERV." A stream of cigarette smoke poured from the first officers mouth as she sighed in frustration. "We've heard rumors that they may be in league with Gendo Ikari, but we have been unable to verify them."

"That," Katsuragi added, "Is one of the reasons we are going to deal with them. Vice Captain?"

Ritsuko Akagi hit a few keys on her console and pulled up a report from one of WILLE's agents.

"We've had an inside man installed in the city for the past couple of years, to keep track of what Itachi is doing and report any suspicious activity that might tie him to NERV. A few weeks ago, we received a curious report from Agent 12, stating that the Mayor's employees had been attacked by a human boy in his early teens." She clicked on a lone image file, and the blurry image of a human being appeared on the ship's view screen, his face obsured by his hair and a hood. "This," Ritsuko explained, "Is the best picture our man could get of the boy before he was taken into custody, following an incident at Elysium's Water Treatment Plant. We have no known history on this person, nor any knowledge of how he came to be in Elysium. All we have is a name: Kenji Rokubungi."

Midori shrugged her shoulders. "So some crazy teenager goes on a rampage in a water plant. How's that our business?"

"Because," the Doctor explained, "Our Agent reported the boy performing physical feats that should be impossible for a boy his age and, most importantly, manifesting an A.T Field." The bridge fell silent. The idea of a human being with their own A.T Field, even in a world of giant monsters and ancient weapons. "It goes without saying that these sort of things don't simply appear out of nowhere. There are only two known organisations that have access to core technology. If there's even the smallest chance that this boy leads back to NERV then we need to contact him."

"So where is he?" Sumire asked, never once taking her eyes off her monitor.

"We don't know for sure." said Misato. "According to our man, the boy was taken somewhere within the city walls but we don't know where exactly. Agent 12 has Itachi's trust for now, but there's still a lot they're not telling him. In light of these recent events, we've decided to send a group into Elysium to investigate further. They'll officially be there to resupply and trade with the city, but one of you will need to meet up with Agent 12 and learn everything you can about Rokubungi. We'll need volunteers-"

"I'll do it."

Misato turned around. It was Asuka who had spoken up. "Are you sure about this Asuka?" she asked her, "If you find a connection between Itachi and NERV and they catch you then your life, and our mission, will be in great danger."

"I've killed Angels for a living!" the girl scoffed, "I think I can take some old Yakuza flunky."

"So be it," Misato said, "But if you go, Mari goes with you. We still need you two to get in sync." Asuka shrugged as she and Mari went to prepare.

"Long as I'm off his ship..." she grumbled. Mari smirked at her fellow pilot, like she'd caught her older sister misbehaving.

"I knew you had some other reason for volunteering Princess." she said. Asuka picked up the pace.

"I just needed to get away from, certain people..."

"You mean one person in particular?"

"If you're saying what I think you are-"

"Of course I am." Mari said, following close behind Asuka as he partner kept trying to get away. "You've been on edge ever since you brouht her aboard."

"Why shouldn't I be!?" Asuka snapped, "She's a weapon, built by NERV to wipe out mankind and we're giving her a daily tête-à-tête with our ships main power source!"

"Come on Princess." Mari fired back. "We've been working together for over ten years and we both know that's not your real problem with her."

Asuka sighed in frustration and finally stopped in her tracks, turning to face the Pilot of Unit 09. "Fine then." she said, "Why don't you tell me. Tell me what you think my beef is with her."

Mari closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"What happened to him wasn't her fault."

The red haired girl shook her head, and stormed out of the room. "This conversation is pointless..."

"Asuka!" Mari called after her but she was already gone.

"It's not your fault either..."


	17. Blood on the Concrete

A/N: Glad to be back to writing (Never) Alone again. I was honestly surprised by how positive a reaction Episode 16 got, as I was very worried I might have gone too far with the cage fight with Keiko. Anyways, I won't say much more except that I hope you enjoy Episode 17. Brace yourselves everyone, because things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Chapter 17

Blood on the Concrete

* * *

Scarlet dust clouded the air behind the military buggy as it cut through the desert, en route to the city of Elysium. The Wunder remained docked at the Outpost for the time being. The city was so close to Tokyo 3 that it was best to lay low, only calling their flagship in when they had no other choice. A total of six vehicles rolled across the dunes, each one carrying equipment and scrap and old world trinkets with which to trade. In the lead vehicle sat a pair of young women, both of them clad in a skin tight plugsuit and matching jacket. They had other clothes of course, including a custom uniform. However, the threat from NERV was so great and so frequent that most of the time it was more practical just to stay in their plugsuits. They weren't much use now, with their Evas damaged and the Wunder miles away, but they had grown used to it.

The two pilots remained silent for most of the trip. It was clear somehing had been troubling Asuka for some time, and she had never appreciated when people tried to read her, something Makinami made a habit. Mari, a born chatterbox, was beginning to go mad from boredom. Much as she liked to tease Asuka, she was smart enough to know when not to poke the bear, and they spent so much time together there was little else to talk about. "How much longer?"

The driver shrugged his shoulders. "'Nother hour or so I guess, long as we don't get caught in a sandstorm." Mari laid back and closed her eyes.

"Wake me when we get there."

Much as the Fourth Child bugged her, Asuka couldn't help but sympathise a little. They'd already agreed on a plan several miles back, and it drove her nuts to go this long without a battle, or at least a sparring session. She almost wished she'd kept the SDAT player, if only to have something to listen to. She quickly buried that thought.

When they finally pulled up outside the gates of Elysium, the first thing they noticed was just how empty the town was. The slums were deathly silent, and there were no signs of human life, save for the guards outside the wall. "Awful quiet..." Asuka mumbled as she stepped up to the gate. "We're here to see the Mayor." The gates creaked open and the group drove in without trouble. The buildings loomed over them as they made their way through the streets. The inner city had little traffic, save for a tram system that took civilians between districts, so it was smooth sailing from the gate to the Mayor's Office. They always spoke to Itachi first; he liked to personally inspect every little object they brought to the table. Itachi ower stood out like a sore thumb. It stretched higher than every other building in Elysium at 20 stories and over 100 feet high, a rare sight in these dark times. The lower floors served as the cultural epicenter of the inner city, filled with restaurants, theaters, cinemas and all kinds of entertainments for the upper echelons to enjoy. The upper floors were, for all intents and purposes, the City Hall, with the Mayor's Office right at the top floor. But there was one floor, just below the Office, that remained a mystery: Floor 19.

There was no button for it in the elevator and seemingly no staircases leading to it, but they knew it had to exist. After enough visits to Elysium, a few of them had noticed that the height of the building didn't match up with the combined height of all the available floors, and wouldn't you know, the difference turned out to be the exact height of one of the tower's levels. On top of that, they had heard strange noises coming from below the mayor's office, and there were no staircases leading from floor 18 to floor 20. Agent 12 had spent the last couple of years trying to access this hidden floor with little luck. He'd tried to access the security system and take a look inside, but only the most trusted of Itachi's security staff were granted access to Floor 19, and he could only do so much before the Mayor grew suspicious.

The image of Ginjiro's smirking face loomed over them as they made their way inside. The man was infamous for having the ego of a Roman Emperor. Funny really, when you considered where he started off. In the days before Third Impact he had merely been a low level gangster; a common thug with an over-inflated sense of self importance. However, opportunists thrived in the new world that NERV had created, and Ginjiro Itachi was no exception. With many of his Clans higher ranking officers dead in the wake of Third Impact, Ginjiro was granted a position of power, to fill the void left behind in the great calamity. With the world in chaos, the Clan Chairman quickly assumed control of the town that would one day become Elysium. And so Itachi bided his time, watching as the small Japanese town grew into a bustling community, aided by the arrival of a group of scientists with exclusive access to cutting edge water purification technology. Of course, the aging Chairman couldn't govern the town forever and in only a few short years the more eligible successors had all met with tragic accidents or been disgraced before the public, until only Ginjiro remained. And when the former Mayor passed away, Itachi transformed Elysium into a massive tribute to himself.

The hallways were beautifully decorated, considering the state of the world around them. Every wall was adorned with beatiful artwork, some of it dating back to before Third Impact. The floors were covered by soft carpeting, pure white due to lack of dye and made of high quality cotton, and the lighting was warm and intimate. The people within these walls lived the Post TI equivalent of the good life. At the end of the hallway stood the big man himself, Ginjiro Itachi, arguing with a member of his staff. It was difficult to tell what he was saying, but the Second Child could just about make out the end of the conversation.

"And for God's sake, keep them away from the Arena!" he hissed, staring right into the man's eyes as the group approached. The Mayor changed his demeanor on a dime when he heard them coming, releasing the security guard and putting on that faux fatherly smile that stretched out his face like a halloween mask. "Mornin' everyone!" he said extending a hand to welcome them. "Good to see you guys again. Hope ya had an easy trip." The two pilots shook his hand as he sent the guard away. "I was just gettin' our new employee up to speed on the layout a' this place." His eyes sparkled behind his sunglasses as he held Asukas hand for an uncomfortably long time. "Good to see ya Captain Shikinami. Yer lookin' lovely as ever."

The Second Child grimaced as she pulled her hand out of his grip. "Nice to see you too Mr Mayor." she said, forcing a smile as her men carried the goods into his office, "How's business?"

The Mayor sighed grimly as he took a seat at his desk, polished to the point of being reflective; a beautiful symbol of status to Itachi, a waste of valuable wood to everyone else. "Not good." he said, reclining in his chair, "Not good at all. The quality of our crops has gone down over the past few months, and the farmers outside are producing less and less with each collection." Asukas fingers dug into her palm. She knew what happened to the villagers who failed to please their benevolent leader. "Top of that, we've been havin' a couple techniqual problems at our water plant, set us back quite a bit. You guys couldn't have come at a better time." The man might have had a talent for engendering sympathy, if he wasn't such a blatant sleaze. "Speakin' a which, let's see what you've brought me today."

They laid out their goods on the floor. It was mostly made up of old world artifacts: art, furniture, ornaments and the like, with a few bits of mechanical equipment thrown, along with some scrap metal. The city had their own smelting plant, WILLE were reluctant to sell weapons to them and, giving them cores was simply out of the question. Luckily for them, the Mayor had an insatiable appetite for fine art, Pre Impact artifacts and anyhing else he could use to flaunt his wealth; a shocking display of greed in a world that relied on rationing, co-operation and self sacrifice. "Hmm not bad, not bad..." Itachi mumbled, practically salivating over the art pieces they had brought with them. A slight buzzing could be heard from within his pocket, and he took out his pager, examining it with a look of disdain. "Sorry ladies, something just came up, can this wait a moment? You're free ta explore the tower in the meantime."

The girls said nothing, they simply looked at each other, nodded, and left the office without another word. The glass elevator hummed gently as it took them downward. A CCTV camera hung from the ceiling, it's lense pointed directly at them. They would have to choose their words carefully, if they didn't want to get caught. "Think I'll head to Floor 5" Asuka said, "Take in a show or something."

"Sounds fun I guess." said Mari, stretching herself out, "I think I'd rather get off on Floor 18."

Asuka raised an eyebrow at that. "You're starting off in the administrative offices?"

"I know it sounds weird." Mari replied, "But a need to stretch my legs a bit, after being stuck in that buggy for so long." Asuka shrugged. She knew what the girl was doing. They had been told to meet with Agent 12 down on Floor 16, where the main security office could be found. Asuka, on the other hand, was curious to see what was going on in the Arena. Experience had taught her that if Itachi wanted to keep something hidden from them, then they had to see it. Besides, Mari was always more of a people person than her.

"And here I thought bureaucracy got you hot and bothered." She said as the elevator doors whooshed open.

"Well, there's that too." the Fourth Child said as she stepped out onto the snow white carpet. "See you later Princess." She blew Asuka a kiss as the doors closed, leaving her friend alone in the elevator. The red haired Pilot leaned against the wall, drumming her fingers against her arm as the security camera followed her every move.

"Hope you creeps are gettimg a real good show." she grumbled. The journey was painfully slow, to the point that she almost wished she'd brought her Wonderswan. But, she had a job to do, and if she let her guard down for even a moment, she might give the game away.

After what felt like hours, the doors whooshed open once again and Asuka found herself on Floor 5. Here, citizens could enjoy plays, watch movies at the cinema, spend time at their bikini bar (if that was your thing), and of course, see a fight at the arena. The arena was one of Elysium's more controversial entertainments; their were few rules in place to protect combatants from injury, and it was rumored that they would hold extremely dangerous events involving weapons, electified cages and even death matches. Even so, he Mayor had never had a problem with WILLE's soldiers seeing a fight before which, to Asuka, meant they were hiding something; something big.

The door was guarded by two men in black suits. Each of them wearing a gun in their side. A bit excessive perhaps, but nothing Asuka hadn't expected. Itachi was paranoid as hell but, luckily for her, nowhere near as smart as he imagined himself. There were security cameras on every hallway, but she'd been here enough times to know their locations, and where their blind spots could be found. She slunk from hallway to hallway, ducking under each camera like a professional cat burglar, until she found what she was looking for: an air vent. There were not many times and Asuka was happy to be curse with eternal youth, but this was easily one of them. The tower's ventilation system was too narrow for an adult to navigate, but with her fourteen year old body, she just about managed to squeeze inside. Even with her smaller stature the passageways made for a tight fit, but she was accustomed to dealing with uncomfortable situations. All she had to do was keep a keen ear out for the sounds of the audience, and soon, she found her way to the arena.

She pulled herself out of the vent into a huge room, surrounded on all sides by a crowd of the Elysium's more affluent citizens. The Second Child kept herself in the shadows, hopping down into the long, thin entryway that lead contestants to the ring. From here, she could not only keep herself out of sight, but also get a clear view of the ring. Through the bars of the cage she could make out two figures. The first was an elderly Caucasian man, surprisingly muscular for his age with short grey hair and a full mustache. Certainoy an odd choice for the arena but it was the secknd combatant that really caught her attention.

Standing in the center of the ring was an East Asian boy in his teen years. His body was short and slim, covered in bruises and dirt, and his face was concealed by several strands of long, brown hair, just like in the photo.

Jackpot.

The Second Child approached with caution, keeping her head down low as she crept towards the cage. She was going to have to be very careful and very sneaky, if she wanted to get Kenji out here and now. The boy seemed frozen in place, tears streaming from his eyes as he trembled in fear. The poor kid must have been terrified.

Then, as Asuka sat there waiting at the edge of the shadows, the old man struck Kenji in the face, and what she saw next horrified her.

* * *

Shinji woke up on the hard concrete floor of the ring, his body stinging from the after effects of the electric shocks. His vision was blurry, as always, but he knew exactly where he was. He recognised the sound of the audience jeering all around him, and the shape of the steel cage that encased the ring. He pulled himself to his feet as the feeling gradually returned to his body. It never got any easier, being forced to hurt the people who he had worked with, befriended, and protected for over half a year. But, he had learned to make these fights hurt as little as possible, doing everything he could to end it in a single strike. It didn't make it any easier to cope with, but the villagers suffered as little as possible, and it made Itachi's twisted idea of entertainment as short lived as he could manage. But he had a feeling this fight wouldn't be anything resembling painless, as his vision cleared and he finally got a good look at his opponent.

It was Mr Clarke.

Shinji waited for the sound of Itachis voice echoing across the room, but it never came. He was just left standing there, the sounds from the audience mere white noise to him. "No..." He whispered, his hands shaking. "Not you."

"I don't like this either boy." Wilson said grimly. He had heavy bags under his eyes, and he was a lot thinner than when Shinji had last seen him. "But we both know how this is going to end."

The boy shook his head furiously. "No." he said, "I don't want to fight you!"

"Nor do I." Mr Clarke repeated, "But they're not going to let us go until one of us is on the ground. Now come on lad, let's get this over with."

Shinji closed his eyes, and tried to shut out the world around him as he raised his fists. The crowd was easy to ignore, but he couldn't get the image of Wilson's face out of his mind. He felt his fists fall to his side. "I can't."

"Come on lad." the old man said, "I can take it. I may be getting on in my years, but I'm a lot tougher than I look. Now come on. Just one quick ounch and this will all be over."

Shinji refused to move. He'd never been good at reading people but he could tell the man was lying to him, to make him do what was necessary. "No." he said again. "I'm sick of doing this Mr Clarke. I don't want to hurt people, I don't want to hurt you." Tears began to flow from his eyes. He knew this was inevitable. He knew that eventually he'd have to throw a punch. But he couldn't bring himself to hit the man.

"I know boy." Mr Clarke said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good lad. But if one of us has to win. And if it's me, they'll kill your whole family. Do you want that to happen?"

The boy shook his head.

"Are you going to hit me then?"

He shook his head again.

The elderly man sighed. The teen was brave and noble, but hopelessly naive. Wilson was going to have to force his hand.

The smell of blood hit Shinji's nostrils as he felt Wilson's fist connect with his face. From there, the fight was over in an instant. There was a horrible, burning feeling in his nose, pain clouded the boy's judgement and, for just a moment, his reflexes betrayed him.

He struck back. It was a wild blow, but a powerful one. He regretted what he'd done the moment he felt his knuckles hit Wilson's face. Blood splatted onto his fist, and time seemed to move in slow motion as he watched Wilson's feet leave the ground, and his frail body crash face first into the steel cage. Any give the bars might have had was instantly mitigated by the A.T Field, so Mr Clarke felt the full force of the impact as he slammed into the metal structure and landed in a pile on the hard concrete.

"No!" Shinji screamed, crawling over to his teacher's crumpled body. "Mr Clarke get up!" He tried desperately to shake the man awake but it was no use. "Come on. You'll be ok..." The tears poured down his cheeks like two waterfalls as blood began to flow from the old man's mouth. "Please!" The boy sobbed, covering his face in shame and despair as nothing he did or said could force his mentor to open his eyes. He sat there for what felt like hours, tears stinging his eyes as the terrible loneliness set in. He was utterly lost, alone in the cage with nobody to comfort him.

 **"You may not think so,"** Zeruel said, **"But you did the right thing."**

"Shut up!" Shinji hissed, "Just shut up!" He refused to listen to anything else the Angel had to say, instead choosing to block out the world around him, as he always did. It was the only defense he'd ever been able to rely on. And so he laid there, on the hard concret floor, wallowing in his own guilt and sorrow.

Until the silence was broken by another voice.

"Hey."

He turned around to see a familiar young redhead, hiding in the shadows. Even wihout her eyepatch and skintight plugsuit he would have known who instantly. Asuka Shikinami was not someone who was easily forgotten. He crawled to the edge of the caging, staring at the girl in disbelief.

Taking leave of her senses, Asuka ran up to the cage to meet him. "Don't be afraid." she whispered, "My name's Asuka, I'm a soldier from WILLE, we're here to help you." The boy stared down at the floor, still trembling from the experience. "Hey, hey, look at me." she said, reaching out to touch him, but the A.T Field got in the way. "Look, it's gonna be ok, you hear me? Just hang on a second and we'll find a way to get you out of here, alright?"

Confused and afraid. The young man slowly raised his head, giving the girl apthe first good look at his face. "Asuka?"

The Pilot's eyes widened as she finally recognised him.

"Shinji!?"

And then she felt a brief moment of blunt pain against the back of her head, and everything went black.


	18. Could We Start Again?

A/N: This chapter took a lot longer than intended, and this time it wasn't because of procrastination or illness. It was a combination of work obligations, meetings with friends and a strong desire to get it just right, as this was the chapter I was looking forward to writing the most (though having said that I've probably set you all up for disappointment. Either way, i hope you all enjoy Episode 18.

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 18

Could We Start Again?

* * *

Agent 12 leaned against the wall, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the people from WILLE to arrive. He was beginning to worry. They weren't exactly running late or anything, but he had picked up something very important, something the Colonel would surely want to know. On top of that, the Mayor's goons were getting increasingly suspicious of his behavior, and he feared they would only get one shot at this. Either they cracked the case here and now, or his entire mission went up in smoke. To tell the truth, he'd never wanted to be a spy. When the organization was formed, he'd signed up for the infantry. He wanted to protect the world on the frontlines, risking life and limb for the sake of humanity on a scarlet battlefield. But as it turned out, a scrawny dork wasn't really military potential, even if he did have a massive gun fetish, and apparently fate had decided he was more suited to the world of espionage.

The man almost jumped out of his skin as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He was growing more and more paranoid as the weeks went on, and the threat of exposure loomed over him. His fingers hovered over his gun: a custom, silenced machine pistol with a silver plated barrel and the ability to switch between fully automatic and burst fire. Not exactly standard issue, in fact he'd pocketed it during a raid on the city's black market, but Itachi didn't seem to mind his men "confiscating" little things like that and he couldn't resist such a beautiful firearm.

The man sighed in embarassment as Mari Makinami rounded the corner.

"Hello again, "Mr Kimura"." she said, "How's life in the birdcage?"

Akira buried his face in his palm. He was jumping at shadows. Even if it had been one of Itachi's men he could have just brushed it off as taking a break. "Getting more fun every day." he said dryly.

Mari smirked at him as she toyed with her hair. "Awww, sounds like somebody needs to unwind." she teased, flashing him a cat-like smile, "What do you say we take in a movie together?"

Akira chuckled awkwardly, brushing a few strands of long hair out of his eyes. "Heh, sorry Miss Makinami but I'm afraid I have to get back to work. You're welcome to use our Cinema however. Unfortunately, the stairs are currently undergoing repairs so you'll have to take the steel box. You don't mind that do you?"

Mari's smile vanished in an instant. "I don't know..." she said, "I still don't do so good in small spaces you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Akira said, sympathising with the girl, "But as it is I'm afraid it's the only safe way down."

The Fourth Child closed her eyes, and took a moment to collect herself, before her perky attitude bounced back, as if it had never left her. "No problem Kimi-Chan!" she said turning away and making her way down the corridor. "See you again soooon~"

Akira waved goodbye, and made his way to the main security office, to wait for Mari's signal. A short time passed before he heard a surprised yelp, coming from inside. There were a few, brief sounds of struggle, before everything went quiet again. Then came the signal: a knock, a short pause, then 3 more knocks. Akira opened the door to find two guard lying flat on their faces. "Don't suppose you have anything to bind them with?" Mari asked, smiling proudly. "Took care of the camera in here by the way." she added, taking out a pocket sized hacking tool. "Set it to play on a loop."

Akira wipped out a pair of zip ties, binding the thugs' hands together. They didnt have much in the way of gags, so they settled for duct taping over their mouths and eyes. "We'll have to work quickly," he warned, "Itachi has access to the CCTV, and that trick with the cameras should buy us some time but not much." He hit a few keys on the computer, and the gigantic view screen began to play a recording from the arena. An old man and a teenage boy stood in the center of the ring, until the teen was struck in the face. With a wild swing he sent his elderly opponent flying and the old man smashed into the cage, bleeding profusely.

"Jesus..." Mari said, covering her mouth in shock. "People really watch this for fun?"

"That's not all." Kimura said as the boy ran over to check on his opponent. Look what happens next."

The recording continued as Asuka Shikinami ran onto the scene, beckoning the boy over. While she was buey talking to him, one of Itachi's men snuck up behind the pilot and slammed the butt of his gun against her head, knocking the girl out cold.

"Princess..." Mari sighed as she watched the girl get dragged away, while the boy began to shake, until he collapsed on the floor. "How the hell did you let yourself get taken down like that?" She glanced at the young man laid out at the edge of the ring, his face obscured by his brown hair. "Take it that's Kenji?"

"Yes," the agent began, "And no. Listen to what the Captain says here..." He handed Mari a pair of headphones, turning up the volume to max and cutting out as much of the background noise as possible.

"Shinji!?" Asuka said, just before the gun hit her head.

"Wow..." Mari said, "Guess I can't blame her for letting her guard down after that."

"Yeah... And now we've got two of the Children in the hands of that scumbag. This mission just got a hell of a lot more complicated. But before we deal with that, we need to get a look at Floor 19..."

"On it." Mari said, taking her hacking tool and plugging it into the console. "Kinda weird that the head of the Intelligence Agency doesn't have full security access."

Akira shrugged. "My job is to keep an eye on anybody the Mayor considers a potential threat." he explained. "Only a couple of people have the Level 4 Clearance to get into Floor 19 and Itach trusts them completely." He watched in amazement as Makinami fiddled with her tiny device, gaining access to Hiroki's Level 4 account in just a few minutes. The man had some limited experience with hacking, but anything more secure than a work computer was beyond him. The screen turned blank, before lighting back up to reveal the hidden level he'd been searching for for so long. It was a mostly dark and barren floor, free of the luxurious decor that the others held, but there were 3 big rooms that stood out to them. The first was Itachi's vault. Second, and the largest by far, appeared to be some kind of holding facility, housing what had to be over a hundred Shriekers. But the third room was what really caught their attention.

It was mostly bare, save for a lone computer; similar in design to the one they were using. The Mayor paced back and forth in front of the blank monitor, before it suddenly came to life, showing a black and red screen that read "Audio Only".

"Ah, boss!" Itachi said, a hint of fear in his voice as he scurried over to the console, "Thank God, I could get a hold of you. I have some fantastic news!"

A cold, harsh voice echoed across the room; one that Mari and Akira knew all too well.

"This had better be good, Itachi." said Gendo Ikari, "I'm in the middle of an important project and I can't afford any distractions."

"Oh trust me, you're gonna wanna hear this!" Itachi chuckled, "We've had another little visit from those chumps at WILLE. Long story short: little Miss Shikinami went looking somewhere she shouldn't and well, now she's in our custody."

"Good." Ikari replied, without a hint of emotion. "Dispose of her as soon as possible."

"Sir?"

"Now that the Third Child has passed away," the Commander explained, "The other pilots are no longer of use to me. Shikinami is a threat to my plan and must be dealt with at once."

Itachi began to shudder as he pondered the consequences of killing a Pilot. "But the organization won't just let me kill one of their best fighters!" he said, "If they find out I've murdered the Pilot of Unit 02 they'll come after me with everything they've got!"

"I am counting on that." Ikari said, a touch of menace in his voice, "When the AAA Wunder comes to take revenge on you, my forces will be waiting. Katsuragi's little army will be destroyed, and Unit 01 will be in my possession. If you defy me, however, then I will bring the full might of NERV down on your head. Do I make myself clear?"

The Mayor chuckled as he reached for the off switch, his skin dripping with nervous sweat. "Of course Commander Ikari. Whatever you say..." He then picked up his phone, and made a call to his right hand. "Hiroki, change of plans." he said, "Throw that Shikinami chick in the same cell as that little shit from the water plant. She's gonna be our next lucky contestant in the arena."

"We're in big trouble..." said Agent 12. "If we don't act fast, we'll not only lose a Pilot, but the entire fleet will be in danger!"

"And if Itachi finds out who he is," Mari added, "The Puppy Boy will end up in Gendo's clutches."

"You need to get out of here" Akira said as Mari copied the footage onto a USB drive, "Take the elevator shaft down to Floor 1 and make your way to the Residential District. I've got a secret bunker underneath my house, get down there and send a message to the Colonel Katsuragi.. I'll take care of the Children."

"But you don't even know where they are!" Mari protested.

"No, but I know where they will be."

* * *

An uncomfortable silence hung over the prison cell as Asuka sat in the corner, staring intensely at the boy across the room from her. She had been sent here to rescue him, only to find herself a fellow prisoner. All of this, thanks to a brief moment of surprise.

"I thought you were dead." Asuka began.

"I'm sorry..." the boy mumbled, his head bowed low.

Asuka rolled her eye. "Of all the people I've met, Bratty Shinji, only you would ever apologise for not dying." She thought back to that day, scouring her memory for some plausible reason the Third Child might have survived, with no success. "Why are you alive anyway? That fall would have killed anyone else."

The boy shrugged, "Don't know." he said, "The last thing I remember before I blacked out was a flash of orange light."

"Orange light?" Asuka asked, "You mean like an A.T Field?" Ikari just shrugged again. Captain Shikinami let out a slight groan of annoyance. "Even on the trail you made for better conversation."

"I'm just being honest." Shinji said, listlessly.

"Well maybe you can tell me this at least: what the hell are you doing here!? What possible reason could you have to risk your life over a freaking Water Plant!? I mean even for you that's a new level of stupid."

"It's a long story." Shinji said, dismissively.

"Try me." Asuka insisted. "It's not like we're short on time is it?"

And so, Shinji took a deep breath and began his tale. "The river carried me downstream, all the way to the slums, where I was taken in by a small family: the Hamasaki's. The people outside the wall made their living by growing and selling their own crops, using the water from the city. One day, the pipes broke and the harvest came up short. Itachi's men didn't like that, so they started beating down the villagers."

"Doesn't surprise me..." Asuka said, grimly, "The Mayor didn't get his job by being kind and forgiving."

Shinji continued, "When I saw what they were doing to my friends I just, lost it. I went berserk and beat the hell out of them. A while later they came back, threatened to kill the whole village if they didn't hand me over." Me ajd the other townsfolk got together and drove them out of the slums."

" **You** drove them out?" Asuka snorted in disbelief, "A wimpy teenage boy with no real combat training fought orf a bunch of hardened thugs with guns; not once, but twice?"

Shinji scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well I had, help."

Asuka eyed the boy suspiciously; he was clearly hiding something. "Go on then," she said, "What happened next?"

"Next," he said, "The Mayor came to see me personally. He wanted me to work for him, and threatened to hurt my family if I didn't."

"And?"

"I told him to go to hell."

"Well I guess you're not completely brainless." Asuka snarked.

The faintest shadow of a smirk spread across Shinji's lips. "I threw him out on his ass, pinned him down and told him I'd beat him to death if he ever came near my home again."

For a moment, Asuka nearly envied the boy. She'd have beat Itachi's face in years ago if she knew what he was really up to. "So, what did he do?"

"Cut off the village's water supply." He explained, "Without any water, everyone would starve to death. So I decided I'd have enough with Itachi, and I went behind the wall to turn the water back on. I almost made it out too. But I think someone shot me with something, and then I just blacked out. Now I'm stuck here, and every day they force me to fight another villager; every day I have to hurt another one of my friends."

Asuka shook her head in disbelief. "You never learn do you? No matter where you go or what you do, you just can't stay out of trouble. You always run headlong into everything wihout thinking, and everyone has to suffer for your screw ups."

Shinji said nothing, he just stared down at the cold, steel floor in shame. Perhaps she had gone too hard on the kid.

"Well at least you're alive." Asuka said, "Thank God we found you here or you might've ended up back at NERV. Now we just need to find a way out of here and get you back on the Wunder where you-"

"No."

A deathly quiet hovered over the pair.

"You wanna run that by me again?" Asuka said, coldly.

"I said no." The boy's hands shook as he spoke. "I'm never going back there."

Asuka crossed her arms, her eyes glowing cobalt blue in quiet anger. "Oh really? So you think you can just screw everything up for us and then walk away from it like nothing ever happened is that it?"

"I don't care what you say Asuka," Shinji hissed, "I'm not going with you, not after everything they've done to me."

"And what about everything you've done to us huh?" Asuka shot back, "Are we supposed to just sit back and let you get away with causing Third Impact, after all the damage you've done; all the lives you've ruined!?"

"It was an accident!"

"So what if it was an accident!?" Asuka snapped, "You think it matters if you did it on purpose or not? Does doing it by accident suddenly bring everyone back to life? Is the world any less fucked up just because you "didnt mean to"? Yeah, it was an accident, but that accident almost wiped out humanity. You still caused Third Impact, you still killed of almost all life on Earth and you're still going to be held responsible for it."

"It's not my fault!" Shinji insisted, "It- it's all because of Dad..."

"It's true," Asuka said, "Gendo did plan for it, but you still played your part in ruining the planet. You still have to answer for your role in Third Impact. everyone does."

"Everyone?" Shinji replied, his voice quivering.

"What?"

"Did Misato ever tell you what she said to me that day, when I awakened Eva 01?" Shinji's long hair obscured his eyes, the words he spoke mocking and bitter. "You can do it Shinji. Do it for yourself. Do it because this is what you want." Every word was a dagger in his heart. "That's right Asuka. On the day of Third Impact, Misato encouraged me."

"That's not fair Shinji." Asuka protested, "She didn't know-"

"WELL NEITHER DID I, DAMMIT!" the boy screamed, springing to his feet, "I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING! I NEVER KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING! I WAS JUST SOME STUPID KID THEY THREW IN AN EVA AND FORCED TO FIGHT FOR THEM! ALL I DID WAS WHAT YOU PEOPLE TOLD ME TO DO!" Tears streamed from his eyes as he slumped against the wall, and slid back down to the floor.

You could hear a pin drop as Captain Shikinami stared daggers at the boy. "Did we tell you to get back in the Eva when the 10th Angel attacked?" She asked, her voice deathly quiet, "Did we tell you to awaken Unit 01? Did we tell you to break the laws of time and space to bring Rei back?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Shinji said, his whole body trembling, "Just let her die; just let the world die? All the other Eva's were down. If I hadn't awakened Eva 01 we'd all be dead now.

Asuka shook her head. "It wasn't the awakening that caused Third Impact, Bratty Shinji. It was absorbing the Angel. All you had to do was kill that damn thing and everything would have been fine! But no, you had to play God and rip the world apart, just to save one person!"

"So I should've just let her die then? If it was you that got eaten by the 10th Angel, would you want me to just leave you for dead?"

That one caught Asuka off guard. She wanted to say that she was willing to make that sacrifice, that the rest of he world was more important than her own life. But was that really what she believed? Ever since that day she'd sworn that no matter what, she'd go on living, refusing to die until she saw the end of this war, until humanity was free of the threat of NERV and the world was rebuilt. If she was in the same position as Rei Ayanami, could she really make that choice?

"No." she said at last, "I'd want to live."

"When I came back, I had no idea what was going on. I didn't know what I'd done; what happened to the world. All I knew was that everyone was mad at me. They locked me in a cell, threatened to kill me, you treated me like a monster!" His eyes glistened in the dim light as he recounted the cold welcome he'd received aboard the Wunder.

"We were going to tell you," Asuka began.

"But you didn't did you?" Shinji fired back, "You barely told me anything! All I knew was that Rei was gone, and I was being punished, and I didn't even know what for! You said yourself, it doesn't matter what you meant to do. You gave me no reason to trust you, and because of that I ended up leaving with... her."

Asuka let out an exhausted huff. Shinji may have been a doormat in the past, but once he'd woken up he'd become infuriatingly stubborn. "Fine." she said eventually, "Yeah, we screwed up too. We should have told you what was going on. But you know what, that doesn't mean you can use that to ignore your own screw ups." She glowered at the boys lack of reaction. "And for your information, Misato did tell me what she said to you. She knows she made a mistake, and she owned it. You think you had it rough? The Colonel got thrown in jail for her involvement with NERV! The only reason they let her out was because Kaji was with the UN, and they needed her. As for me, I was basically treated like a ticking time bomb. I couldn't go anywhere without hearing people whispering about me, how I could turn on them at any second, how they all "knew" I was going to turn traitor and wipe out all of mankind. You think you had it bad because you had to listen to a few mean words? Try dealing with five years of that shit!"

Shinji looked away from her. With every word she said he found it harder to look her in the eye. He'd never considered what the others had to go through.

"And what about Fourth Impact huh?" the Redhead spat, "What's your excuse for that one!?"

"I was only trying to help..." Shinji said.

"And look how well that turned out!" Asuka yelled, "You damn near wiped out what little was left of us! I had to blow up my own Eva taking down the Mark 09, and Four Eyes' Unit lost it's arms just to save your sorry hide, and you just sat there feeling sorry for yourself while the world was literally ending around you."

"My friend had just died!" the boy sobbed.

"Because you wouldn't listen to him!" Asuka shouted, "Everybody was screaming at you not to pull out those Spears, even SEELE's Child, and you did it anyway."

Shinji sat there in silence for a moment. Tears poured out of his sockets like little waterfalls. For the first time since they'd started arguing, Asuka felt a pang of guilt. She'd gone too far.

"Look, that boy was important to you right?"

"Yes." Shinji whispered, "Back then, he was the only thing that made me happy..."

"And you want to do right by him? You want to honor his memory?"

He nodded.

"Then take some responsibility." Asuka said, "Stop trying to run away from your past. Otherwise, you'll just insult him."

Their conversation was interrupted by the familiar sound of the door wooshing open and in stepped Mayor Itachi, wearing the biggest shit-eating grin of his life.

"Hey!" he said, his faux-friendly demeanor as thick as ever, "How you guys settling in? I know it's not the Wunder Miss Shikinami, but I'm sure you'll adapt."

"Nice to see you Ginjiro." Asuka growled, "I don't think I'll have to worry about adapting, seeing how we won't be here after tomorrow."

"Well you're not wrong." Itachi said, "Just thought I'd give you kids a lil update. You'll have an extra special audience for tomorrow, boy. Your whole village is gonna be there to watch you brats beat each other to death, well 'cept for one of them."

That snapped Shinji out of his self pity for just a moment. "What?"

"Oh didn't you know?" the mayor asked, feigning sympathy, "That old bastard you fought kicked the bucket just a few hours ago. You really did a number on him kid."

"No..." Shinji said, getting to his feet, "You're lying. Mr Clarke can't be dead!" The look on his face was a hideous mix of anger and misery.

"Awww, what's wrong?" Itachi said, the malice clear in his voice, "Thought you were you into that shit? Seemed like you were having plenty of fun slappin' me around!"

The Mayor jumped back in fear as Shinji lunged at him, the boy's fist stretching out the A.T Field for just a moment before it forced he kid back.

"When I get out of hear," he snarled, "I'll rip your head off!"

Asuka felt just a bit of satisfaction at seeing the look of fear on Itachi's face, before the man recollcted himself and went back to his usual, irreverent attitude.

"Yer welcome to try," he said, "But my men'll be their too remember? And if either of you try anything funny, all I have to do is say the word and they'll put a bullet in yer whole stinkin' family."

Shinji didn't answer him. He just stood there with his head against the barrier, eyes full of mad fury. Asuka had never seen him like this before. Sure, she'd seen him get angry, but not like this. He seemed wild, animalistic, and she fully believed he'd slaughter Itachi if given the chance. Not for the first time, the girl felt scared for him.

"See ya tomorrow kids!" the man said, laughing to himself as he walked out the door.

"Thank Gott that's over." Asuka grumbled, "One more word out of him and Id've broken my fist on that damn barrier."

"I'll kill him!" Shinji growled, falling to his knees. "Itachi, Hiroki, Fuyutski, my Dad..." he dug his fist into the ground so hard it was a surprise he didn't leave a crater in the floor. "One day... I'll kill them all..."

Asuka looked on in horror. Shinji had never spoken like this, even in his darkest moments. His time in the prison had affected him in a way she could never have imagined, and it threatened to turn him into something dark, and terrible. Asuka reacted the only way she knew how: deflecting it with her usual, brash attitude.

"Well get in line." she said, "Hundreds have people suffered under Ginjiro Itachi long before you came here, and you couldn't imagine all the lives ruined by NERV."

The Third Child said nothing, he just sat there, stewing in his anger. Maybe it was best to change the subject.

"How the hell did you do that anyway?" the redhead asked, "You almost broke through that A.T Field! I've seen some weird things in the past few years but I've never seen a human do that."

"I don't wanna talk about it..." Shinji deflected, not even looking at her.

"The whole reason I came here was to figure out how you could do shit like that." Asuka insisted, "You could at least give me that."

"I told you." Shinji said, "I just had a little... help, ok?"

Asuka frowned at him. She thought long and hard about who possibly could have given him that power. Probably not Gendo; that wouldn't make sense. She doubted Ginjiro was capable of that, or why he'd give that power to anyone but himself. And then, her thoughts turned to the day of Third Impact, the events that had led to the catastrophe, and the presence lurking in her own mind.

"No," she said, "You didn't! You didn't let an Angel in your head did you?"

His silence told her all she needed to know. It sounded absurd, but it was the only other explanation she could think of.

"Jesus Christus, how stupid are you!?" she yelled, "After all the damage you've caused, all the lives you've put in danger, you thought it was a good idea to let the 10th Angel into your mind!? Are you actually insane!?"

"I didn't have a choice!" Shinji said, defensively, "They were going to hurt my family, I had to protect them!"

"And look how well that turned out!" Asuka fired back, "I swear to God everything you do just makes you more dangerous! And you seriously don't think you should go back to the Wunder, even after this?"

"No..." he said, shaking his head, "No I can't do it. I don't want to go back to that life. I don't want to go back to being, that person."

"You'll always be Shinji Ikari." Asuka told him, "Nothing can change that, no matter how much you want it."

"No!" he snapped, "I- I'm Kenji now!"

"What?"

As far as the villagers care, I'm Kenji Rokubungi." he said, "I keep them safe, I'm stronger now, braver. I'm not like I was back then..."

The Second Child stared at him in disbelief. He really amazed her sometimes.

"Great!" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Fantastic! You're not just running from your problems, you're pretending they don't exist. Brilliant, wonderful, congratulations!"

"Say whatever you want Asuka," Shinji said, "But there are people here who took me in, treated me like a son, evem0n knowing who I was, what I'd done. I'd rather stay with them than somewhere everyone hates me."

Asuka huffed at the implications of what he said. Was that really how he saw them? She supposed they hadn't done much to prove him wrong.

"I don't hate you..." she said, "I'm pissed of at you but I don't hate you, and neither does the Colonel."

"She put a bomb on me!" the boy shouted.

"Because you're a threat!" Asuka replied, "You may not like it but your a danger to all mankind, and if it came down to you or the world, we have to choose the world! If it was Misato in your place, would you rather save her or save the world?"

Shinji turned away from her. "I don't want to answer that..."

"Well neither did she." explained Asuka, "She didn't want to put that Choker on your neck anymore than she wanted to do it to..."

Her voice trailed off.

"What?" Shinji asked.

He got no answer, but he did notice Asuka pull up the collar on her plugsuit, just in case.

"You're wearing a Choker!" he gasped, "What the hell is wrong with her!? It wasn't enough she did it to me, she had to force one on you too!"

"I volunteered you moron!" Asuka yelled, "She didn't want me to have to wear it; hell, she practically begged me not too!"

That didn't help.

"So she'll beg you not to wear the Choker but she puts one on me like it's nothing..."

"Will you stop being an ass for just a second and listen to me!?" the girl screamed, "I told you she didn't want you to wear it either. She asked me not to because she was feeling guilty alright? She, thought it was her fault you committed suicide, and she didn't want anybody to have one of those things around their neck again."

Shinji looked, confused to say the least, but Asuka supposed she couldn't blame him.

"I still say she went too far..."

"Maybe she did," Asuka admitted, "But she did it because she felt she had to. Everything bad you've done, you did for yourself. you refuse to come back with me because you don't want to face up to what you've done!"

"Alright fine, I'm selfish!" Shinji screamed, burying his face in his hands, "What do you expect!? My Mom died when I was just 3 years old, and my Dad threw me away like I was nothing! I spent the rest of my childhood at my Aunt and Uncle's place, where they made me live in the shed because they thought I should learn to "live independently". Nobody ever taught me to think about others."

He sat there in silence for God knows how long, reflecting on the life he'd lived, and all that had come of it.

"Let me ask you something." Asuka said, when they had both calmed down, "Even if you'd believed SEELE's Child-"

"Kaworu."

"Fine." Asuka started over, "Even if you'd believed Kaworu when he told you not to pull out the Spears, even if you knew for a fact that what you were doimg would cause Fourth Impact, would that really have stopped you?"

The boy shook his head as the reality sunk in.

"No..." he admitted, "I wouldn't have. I didn't want to believe it was true. I wanted people to trust me, I wanted to be forgiven. I... I wanted you and Misato to like me again..."

"I thought so." Asuka sighed, "You never change Shinji, never think things through. Even when you're trying to do the right thing you hink of your happiness first, without once thinking of who it might hurt if you screw up." Her locks hid the girls tears as she shook her head. "Damn it Shinji, I want to forgive you; I really do. I don't want to be angry at you all the time but you just make itmso hard not to be!"

"I'm sorry..." he whimpered, "I don't mean to be selfish..."

"I know, Shinji."

"I... I never wanted to hurt anybody..." he said, his tears staining the floor.

"I know Shinji." Asuka said again, "I know..."

* * *

The night was unbearably long as Shinji laid against the hard steel floor, shivering in the dark. They had been provided with blankets, but they were thin and ridden with holes. If anything, they made the night feel even colder. And so he lay there, trembling as the freezing cold pierced his body, until he felt a second blanket draped on top of him, and a warm body laying next to his. To his great surprise, he turned around to find Asuka Shikinami staring back at him.

"Turn around." the Pilot growled.

"S- sorry!" the boy yelped, rolling over.

"And don't get the wrong idea," she assured him, "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this because I need to keep myself warm and I can't stand your whimpering. That's all."

"O- ok..." Shinji mumbled. Even if she was doing it for her own reasons, having Asuka next to him helped a lot.

"Look," she said at last, "I know you're trying Shinji. I know you want to help, but everything you've done only ended up hurting everyone in the end, including yourself. Do you understand that?"

"Yeah," the boy replied, sadly, "I do..."

"No matter how much you want to help, we can't afford for you to make another mistake. Sooner or later you're gonna have to accept that the best thing you can do is stay out of the way and let WILLE deal with NERV."

Shinji nodded silently. As much as it hurt, he couldn't honestly say that anything he'd done since coming out of Eva 01 had worked out for the better.

"Maybe one day," Asuka suggested, "You'll get a chance to redeem yourself. But for now, it really is better if you do what the Colonel said, and just do nothing."

The growing discomfort hung over the boy as he pondered his future, if he even had a future. Asuka seemed to notice this too, and tried to take his mind off of it.

"How'd you even come up with a name like "Kenji Rokubungi"?" she asked.

"Well," Shinji began, "The first name was pretty easy..."

"Kensuke and Toji." they said together.

"But my surname was kinda tricky." the boy explained, "In the end I decided to use my P.E Teacher's name."

"You must have like him a lot to name yourself after him." Asuka said.

"He was horrible to me!" Shinji replied, "He'd always go on about how useless I was, and he constantly forced me to work harder than everyone else, even thouh he knew I sucked at Phys Ed. I just needed a surname that sounded real and didn't give me away."

"Maybe he was trying to make you better?" Asuka offered.

"I don't know." Shinji said, "I just had a lot of bad luck with teachers in Junior High. There was this one time my Homeroom Teacher gave us a homework assignment. We had to write an essay about what kind of career we wanted and what we wanted to do in the future. I didn't really have any plans for the future, I had no ambitions, I didn't even care if I got in an accident and died out of nowhere. I put that in my essay, and he chewed me out."

"Of course he did." Asuka snorted, "That's a stupid thing to say. Just because you don't know what to do with your life doesn't mean you shouldn't give a shit."

But there was more to it than that. "The thing is..." Shinji explained, "Being the Third Child was the first thing that gave me a purpose; that made me feel like I had a place in the world. It's not like I want to pilot Unit 01 again, but without it, I feel like I'm nothing..." He began to laugh. There was no joy in it, only bitterness and sorrow. "I'm really fucked up aren't I?" he croaked, feeling the tears welling up again.

"You're not nothing." Asuka told him.

"Yes I am." Shinji said, hiding his face again, "I should never have been born."

"Stop that." Asuka said, turning the boy to face her, "Look at me. I want you to remember this ok? You're not worthless. Even if it all went wrong, you still stopped five Angel attacks. If you weren't born, everybody on Earth would be dead. Even without being a Pilot, you're more than nothing."

Shinji turned away again. He still wasn't convinced, but there was no point in arguing.

"I'm scared Asuka." he admitted, "They're going to make us kill each other."

"I'm not going to kill you Shinji." Asuka said, "I'll get you out alive."

"It's not me I'm worried about."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "First of all, I'd never let you kill me," she said, "And secondly, it doesn't matter who you're worried about, we're getting out of here alive, the both of us."

Shinji turned to face her again. "Promise?"

"Promise."

One question stuck in the boy's mind. "Are you still taking me back to WILLE?"

"Let's just focus on getting out of here." Asuka yawned, "We'll talk about that later."

"Please don't take me back there." Shinji begged, "I can't face the others anymore."

But Asuka had already fallen asleep.

" **I have to admire her forcefulness.** " Zeruel said, " **Perhaps I chose the wrong host.** "

'Oh shut up Zeruel.' Shinji thought. 'I'm not in the mood.' He looked again at the girl laying beside him. 'Do you think she was right about me?'

" **I cannot say,** " Zeruel explained, " **Much of Lilin behavior remains a mystery to me. My kind have no concept of affection or selfishness. I can confirm one thing however: you are indeed a danger to all those around you.** "

'I was only trying to keep my friends safe.' Shinji protested.

" **You are an Impact Trigger.** " Zeruel reminded him, " **Nobody can truly be safe around you.** "

Shinji felt a sting in his heart. Nothing would ever be the same again.

" **However, in spite of all her fury, the girl does seem fond of you.** "

Shinji was dubious at best. 'She spent half the night yelling at me!'

" **And yet, she has promised to keep you safe, and laid beside you to give you comfort.** "

'Come on,' Shinji thought, 'You heard what she said.'

" **The girl is a poor liar.** " Zeruel said. " **She is easily durable enough to withstand the cold. You, on the other hand, are far more sensitive. She saw your pain and saw fit to relieve it.** "

Shinji thought on it for a moment. Was there some truth to what the Angel said? As a test, he shuffled closer to his fellow Eva Pilot. He expected her to turn away from him, like that night in the old house. But instead, she moved closer, and he felt her body press against his. He told himself that it was just a coincidence, that she was just moving about in her sleep. But still, for the first time since his capture, it brought a smile to his face.

* * *

There were a couple of things that made this chapter difficult to write. The first was that the argument between the two Children was emotionally draining to write about. When you write characters for long enough, you almost start to feel the emotions that they feel. The second thing was Asuka. She is probably the most difficult character to write out of all of the original cast. The idea is that she's supposed to be torn between her feelings for Shinji and her bitterness at the world he created, and I often find myself asking "Does this make her seem confoicted, or inconsistent?" and this chapter was no exception.

The reason I wanted to write this particular chapter, more than any other, goes back to my feelings regarding 3.0. If you ask people online, the prevailing opinion seems to be split between seeing WILLE as being justified in their treatment of Shinji, whole the other side sees Shinji as an innocent scapegoat, and WILLE as a bunch of assholes. Personally, I can understand where both Shinji and WILLE are coming from, and although Shinji is given the sympathetic POV, I tried to take the time to humanize the crew of the Wunder, although judging by readers comments, I haven't done a very good job of it.

Either way, the meat of this chapter was sort of my filibuster on how I feel about both sides of the argument, and I did, my best to convey both Shinji and Asukas point of view, as well as my personal belief that neither one is entirely wrong, and to show that Asuka's relstionship with the boy is more complicated than just being angry at him. Ultimately, I feel the key factor in the story is forgiveness, and Shinji and WILLE havento learn to forgive both each other, and themselves before the story is over.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I hope you enjoyed Episode 18, and I will see you again when Episode 19 comes out.

-Rollinaround


	19. Toys in the Attic

Before we start I forgot to mention last time that Shinji's backstory about living in a shed at his Uncle's house comes from the NGE manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (which I highly recommend by the way).

With that out of the way, let's dive right into Chapter 19. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 19

Toys in the Attic

Colonel Misato Katsuragi sat at her desk in the Captain's office aboard the AAA Wunder, her coffee leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. In bettter times, she had kept herself awake with an icy can of beer, but much of that had quickly dwindled away after the fall of society. Not only that but, after a brief self-destructive bout in the early days of the war, she had sworn never to drink again until the threat of NERV had been wiped from the Earth. The drink had long gone cold, and she found coffee an unpleasant drink even when it was warm. Still, coffee was rare in these days, rations were short lived, and she needed to keep herself awake. Something was wrong. She should have heard back from the Pilots hours ago. If all had gone well, their dealings would have been finished by nightfall. But now it was the wee hours of the morning, and the first hint of light was just beginning to slither over the horizon. Her eyelids grew heavy, and the need for rest closed in on the Colonel. She was just about to give in and let sleep take her at last when her computer came alive again, and the image of The Fourth Child appeared behind her.

"Colonel!" she said, nearly scaring the woman out of her seat.

Misato shook herself awake. "Pilot Makinami," she said, "What is going on in there? Why has it taken you so long to report back to us?"

"Sorry Colonel." said Mari, breathing heavily, "I had to sneak out here by foot. We've caught Itachi red handed. He's been working for NERV, just as we thought. The bad news, everything's gone to hell. The Princess got herself captured, and Ikari's ordered her killed, their going to use her as bait to try and pull you into a trap."

Misato cursed under her breath. She knew it was risky to let her Pilots back in Elysium, but she never expected Asuka would be caught by Ginjiro Itachi, who was little more than a finely dressed crook with more mouth than brains. "How did Captain Shikinami let herself get taken by that slimy bastard? And where is Agent K-" The Pilot cut her off.

"He's stayed behind to rescue the Princess." she explained, "He knows the city better than I do, and he can move freely. But there's more. That kid you sent us to find?"

"Yes?"

"He's The Third Child. He's Shinji Ikari."

The foam cup fell through the air, and icy coffee splashed against Misato boot as she leapt out of her seat.

"Shinji!?" she yelled, "He's alive?"

"Yes Ma'am." said Mari, "We don't know where he is but Itachi says he's taking him and the Princess to the arena tomorrow. He's going to make them kill each other!" Misato gritted her teeth in fury. First she found out he'd been working for Gendo, now he had the nerve to take Shinji and Asuka from her? She'd strangle him for this.

'Noone took Shinji from you.' a voice whispered in her head, 'You threw him away.'

"There's one more thing," Mari told her, "Gendo knows the Princess is there. He's using her as bait. If you take the Wunder to Elysium, NERV's will be waiting for you."

The Colonel bit her tongue. If she went in to rescue the Pilots, she would be putting her entire crew at great risk. She could expect to face the full might of NERV, and if the Wunder was lost, the war was lost.

But then something sparked in the back of her mind; a horrible nagging thought that haunted her memories. An image of a young boy flashed before her. A confused young boy with a black, metal choker around his neck, afraid and alone. She'd already abandoned the boy once before and, if Asuka was to be believed, it had destroyed him. Her actions had driven the boy to suicide. Could she really gamble with his life again for the sake of an easier victory?

Deep down, she knew he choice had already been made for her.

"Mari you need to get out of there as soon as possible. There should be a tunnel in that bunker if I remember rightly. It should lead you out of the city. Lay down a homing beacon when you're a safe distance away and we'll come pick you up."

"Yes Ma'am." The girl replied, and though she didn't show it Misato knew she was worried.

There was one more thing she had to do.

"Ritsuko," she said as she brought up the camera from Vice Captain Akagi's quarters, "How is progress on Unit 0802?"

"Still some time left to go." Ritsuko said, drowsy from her sleep, "Much of Unit 02 has to be grafted onto Unit 08, and we still have the arms and the dual-entry system to work on."

"That's fine." Misato assured her, "Can it still be operated by one of our pilots?"

The Doctor rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I suppose so..."

"Good." Misato said, firmly, "Fit it with that experimental arm chassis we were working on, prepare the Hellhound Jets and scramble the Bridge Crew as fast as you can. We're going to Elysium."

* * *

Asuka sat in a small wooden chair, waiting in the dark for a visitor she dreaded to see, but she knew would come. She was in a room with no walls, floor or ceiling, yet if left her seat she knew that... something would keep her from falling. There was the smell of old dust in the air, and the creaking sound of a strained, hempen rope echoed around her yet see saw nothing. Well, not quite nothing. Across from her sat an empty chair, no different from her own, and in it appeared a little girl in a red dress, her auburn hair obscuring her features and her arms wrapped tightly around a small cloth and porcelain doll with matching clothes and hair.

"He won't accept you," the child whispered, her body as still as the grave, "You know that better than anyone else. It doesn't matter how long you've travelled with him or what you say to him, he'll always remember you as a cruel bully."

"And what should I care?" Asuka snorted, "You think it matters to me if the brat likes me or not?"

"You hide your true self poorly Asuka Langley Shikinami." the girl replied, "Your feelings for the boy are the only reason he still lives. Had anyone else had done the things he has you would have left them to starve to death in that Entry Plug. If your speak truly, why is he alive did you save him?"

"What can't of stupid question is that?" the Redhead asked, "Why did I save him? Because it was in WILLE's best interest to take him back and, oddly enough I don't leave kids to die! Not even if that kid is a whiny, spoiled brat who's given me nothing but trouble."

"If you truly deny your feelings then you lie to yourself." said the vision.

"Oh shut up!" Asuka snarled, "It doesn't matter if he likes me or not. Things have changed, I'm a different person now."

"You have not changed at all." the creature said, "You are still the same frightened little girl you've always been. You name the boy a spoiled brat yet you speak just as truly of yourself. If you had indeed changed then you would not treat him in the way you do."

"If I'm hard on him," Asuka insisted, "It's because it's the only way the idiot will ever learn."

"A half truth at best." her guest replied, "But you greatest anger comes from something deeper: there is a powerful jealousy within you, fueling your bitterness and resentment." For the first time the girl moved, lifting up the doll as it took up a new form, one of a pale girl with soft blue hair and ruby-like eyes.

Asuka scoffed at the toy before her. "You think I'm angry at him because he wanted Rei instead of me? I let her have him remember?" the memory stung her. She had not wanted to give the boy up back then but she had. "I was fine, just being his friend."

"You were." the doll replied, "Until his choice tore your life apart. Your life was almost ended at his hands, and the Earth was spoiled for aeons to come, all to save a girl who couldn't be saved. Even when he woke up he thought only of her, not the girl he thought he'd killed." The Rei doll crumbled to dust to be replaced by the caricature of Asuka once again. "All of this has happened because he didn't want you."

Asuka dug her fingers into her knees until the nails pierced her skin.

" _And why should he want you?_ " the doll asked, tilting her head curiously, " _It's not as if anybody has ever wanted before, not even her._ "

In the back of her mind, Captain Shikinami heard a small girl crying. 'I'll do anything, just don't stop being my mama!' it begged.

The doll's eyes glowed a deep, sapphire blue as it spoke. " _My offer still stands Asuka_ " the Angel promised her, " _The boy is destined to destroy this world. Give me a place in that destiny, and I will give you what you always wanted._ "

The Second Child felt a weight in her lap and a comforting warmth spread through her. She looked down to see Shinji, kneeling beside her and resting his head in her lap, a look of contented bliss on his face. She reached out to touch the boy, but before her fingers met his face, his whole body turned red, before collapsing in a pile of scarlet dust at her feet.

" _You can never be together in the way you are now._ " said the 9th Angel, " _But if you give me what you want, then I will build you both a new life, without the imperfections that keep you apart._ "

"No." Asuka said, "Even if I did want that life, I have a duty to protect this world."

" _Forget the world"_ the doll told her, " _This world fears and hates you as it does all of the Children._ _They only tolerate you because you are still of use to them. When this war is over, they'll cast you out just as they did to him._ "

The little girl's skin became rough and splintered, her bones replaced with wooden joints as strings grew out of her back, lifting her into the air. " _In the past, you were nothing but a little doll. Now, you are even less. And when you can no longer dance for them, they'll cut your strings!_ " The threads holding up the puppet Asuka were instantly severed, save for one on it's back, and it slumped in the air, gently swaying from side to side.

" _Do yourself, and the people you love a favour and take my offer._ " the entity said, " _There are only two other ways this can end..._ "

The doll took the form of a teenage boy with a hurt, desperate expression on his face. The puppet wrapped her arms around the doll, but the tighter she hugged it the more despondent it became, and the sadder it got the harder she held it until finally, with a sickening crunch, the Shinji doll's china body shattered to pieces, and it's head landed in Asuka's lap. "You're- you're lying." the girl's voice trembled as she spoke, "I wouldn't do that to him!"

" _You're sure?_ " the doll asked her, a vicious grin spreading across it's cracked face, " _Then this is what you have to look forward to!_ " In an instant, the doll's head transformed into a full sized Shinji Ikari, it's skin chipped and cracked and it's features painted on. Before Asuka had a chance to react it wrapped it's hands around her neck and slowly choked the life out of her.

Asuka gasped for air as the doll pushed her to the ground. She tried desperately to break free but the Angel was too strong, and she ended up just kicking her feet in desperation.

" _I know what you're thinking._ " the monster said, perfectly mimicking Asuka's voice, "Oh, my Shinji could never do something like this to me." it said, mockingly, " _But would you like to hear what he's thinking right now~?_ "

The Angel placed a hand on the girl's forehead, filling her mind with images of Shinji's friends and family, their faces twisted in pain.

"I HATE YOU!" Shinji screamed, loud enough to make her ears bleed, "I HATE DAD, I HATE MOM, I HATE NERV AND WILLE, I HATE MISATO, RITSUKO, KAWORU, TOJI! I HATE REI FOR LEAVING ME! I HATE THAT BITCH ASUKA, I HATE MYSELF! I HATE EVERYONE!"

"No!" Asuka yelled as she felt the strengtg drained from her body. "He's not like that. That's not him. That's not Shinji!"

The girl woke with a start, her heart thumping as she felt around her neck. No signs of damage, just the DSS Choker. Her breaths were deep and heavy as she revelled in her ability to breathe normally again. She felt something beside her, and turned to see Shinji Ikari, resting on her shoulder with a smile on his face.

"Pervert..." the Pilot mumbled, staring up at the ceiling, reflecting on his pleas from the night before.

"Please, don't take me back there..."

Those words played over and over in her head. It would be cruel to force him back onto the Wunder, to tear him away from his new family to live in fear of others. But what were they supposed to do, let him roam free with an Angel in his mind? Leave him out in the open where NERV could whisk him away? Let him and his new friends live in constant danger? Going back WILLE wouldn't make him happy, but at least they could keep him safe; safer than he would be anyway.

She looked back at him again and remembered the confused, miserable look on his face when her fist met the security glass on that fateful day, and his dull, broken eyes when she pulled him out of Unit 13s Entry Plug, unable to do anything but scream at him.

"Stupid Shinji..." she sighed, "What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

Shinji woke up just as the suns rays began to shine on the walls of Elysium's prison, not that he could tell. The entire room was windowless, illuminated only by a thin light that seeped in underneath the cell door. He was alone beneath the ragged blankets he'd slept in, but he could just about make out the silhouette of Asuka Shikinami, waiting at the edge of their cramped enclosure.

"You'd better get up." she told him, "They'll be coming to get us soon."

Shinji stepped up to meet her, waiting for the moment when the doors would woosh open, and Itachi's thugs would lead them to their fate.

"Listen," he said, "If we don't make it out of this..."

"I told you," Asuka snapped, "Neither of us is gonna die."

The boy withered on the spot. "I just don't want us to die angry at each other ok?"

"I don't either." said the redhead, "But... it's not that easy. You can't just say sorry and expect to be forgiven on the spot."

"What do I do then?"

Asuka looked at him with pity. For all his newfound strength he was still a lost young boy.

"If you wanted people to trust you," she began, "Stop running away. If you want them to forgive you, take some responsibility. And if you want them to like you... oh hell, as if I know how to do that."

The shadow of a smirk appeared on Shinji's face. "I don't know." he said, "You seemed to know how 14 years ago."

Asuka scoffed at the idea. "Please..."

"No I'm serious." the boy insisted, "Misato liked you, Hikari liked you. I know plenty of the boys liked you." That last one drew a chuckle from her.

"You mean they liked fantasizing about me."

Her cellmate shrugged. "Until you kicked their teeth in for getting near you."

"Yeah," Asuka said defensively, "Because they wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."

The two of them smiled for a moment, as they thought back on happier days.

"I miss those times..." Shinji said, his smile quickly fading.

"Consider yourself lucky." Asuka replied, "For you that was less than a year ago. For everyone else, over a decade. A lot of people are too young to even remember life back then."

Shinji stared wistfully out of the cell, into the seemingly endless darkness beyond. Like always it was the waiting that hurt most, not knowing what lay in his future, if anything.

"Are you still scared?" asked his fellow Pilot.

"Terrified."

Asuka turned the boy to face her, staring deep into his ocean blue eyes. "Don't be." she whispered, "We're gonna get through this. We're going home."

"Home..." Shinji murmured, "Where is home anymore?"

The two Children stood there in awkward silence for who knows how long before Asuka finally spoke up.

"Listen Shinji, before we do this I- I just wanted to say... look, I was wrong alright?"

The boy instantly snapped back to reality. Had she really just said that?

"What?"

"I was wrong," she repeated, "About Third impact." Shinji looked at her as if she'd said something insane. "I don't think you're completely innocent, and you're still not off the hook for causing Fourth Impact. But..." It took a moment for her to get the words out. "I guess I can't blame you for doing what you did. I don't know, maybe I would have done the same..."

Shinji was dumbfounded. "I don't think you've ever said you were wrong before."

"Yeah, well it's been a weird couple of days alright?" Asuka groaned, surly from her lack of sleep.

It didn't fix anything, but it made the kid feel a little better. "Thanks Asuka."

"Yeah yeah..." the girl replied, "Just don't get used to it."

Light flooded the room as the steel door slid open.

"Guess that's our cue." Asuka said as they heard footsteps approaching, "You ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah..." Shinji whispered, his knuckles going pale as Itachi's smug face stuck in his mind.

"I've got a promise to keep!"

* * *

A/N: I know I said Chapter 18 was the one I looked forward twpo most but I think this one was a bit better. The previous Chapter was mostly just two characters arguing for an extended period of time. This one was similar in concept but I felt it was more concise and the Asuka's nightmare allowed me to use some more creative imagery.

I also thought it would also be a good idea to address some of the thoughts and criticisms to of Chapter 18 and try to fix a few of the problems people had with it.

I had originally intended to make this Chapter longer and do a scene in the arena, but it's almost been a week and after so many delays I figured you guys would like to have at least one installment out in a timely fashion. Don't worry, after this, I'm going to give you all some real action.

Only one or two more Chapters to go for Part 1. Hope you'll join me for Chapter 20 soon.

-Rollinaround


	20. The Show Must Go On

**A/N** : Not got a huge amount to say on this Chapter. Just that I'm sorry for the delay on this one, and that I hope to get the Finale out much quicker. Also, for those wondering, I have seen the 10 minute preview of 3.0+1.0 and I really liked it. I may include some elements of what I saw there, but I don't want the previews to alter the story too much. This is my own take on a 3.33 sequel. If all I do is copy Studio Khara, then what's the point?

Reader's Questions: The Readers Question for this Chapter isn't technically a question but Kempn200252 wondered allowed if Shinji's inner thoughts were his current internal thoughts or his general feelings towards WILLE and Asuka. I can't get too much into that, as I'm saving some of that for Part Two but keep in mind that Bardiel is trying to manipulate Asuka, and therefore will feed her a mix of truth, lies and half truths to get her to do what it wants. What Asuka heard may Shinji's true feelings, or a deception, or an exaggeration of reality. That's all I can say for now but you'll hopefully get a more clear and satisfying answer in (Never) Alone Part 2

Thank you all for coming back for Chapter 20, I hope it was worth the wait.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 20

The Show Must Go On

"May I speak frankly Captain?" Ritsuko Akagi asked as she and Misato made their way down the long, winding corridors of the AAA Wunder. The lights had just come on, and the rest of the crew had been given their wake-up calls. It was earlier than the usual time of 06:30AM but the Captain wanted them ready to move out the very moment the picked up Mari's signal.

"Why break the habit of a lifetime?" Misato replied, dryly.

"I think this is suicide." the Doctor said, "Once Pilot Makinami returns we'll have all the evidence we need to takeover Elysium with the backing of the UN's forces, and we have an agent poised to recover the Second and Third Children. With just a little bit of patience we can all but guarantee our victory and you're launching an all out assault with a single, heavily damaged aircraft?"

"I'm well aware of what I'm doing." Misato said, "But if Agent 12 fails we'll not only lose Asuka, Shinji Ikari will be killed or worse; fall into enemy hands again. That's not a risk I'm willing to take."

"The AAA Wunder holds the last three Eva Units not controlled by NERV." Ritsuko insisted, "If it falls in battle, Units 02 and 08 will be destroyed and Gendo Ikari will have not one but two awakened Evas! Even if we lose Shinji and Asuka we still have a chance. If we lose this ship then the war is as good as over."

"We're not going to lose." The Colonel insisted, "We're going to lay a trap of our own; we'll send in the AAA Wunder to draw NERV out, then catch them off guard with a surprise attack from Unit 08. After that, we'll blast the Nemesis Series from above while Mari keeps them busy."

"That's still an insanely high risk!" said Ritsuko, "And we'll all be dead if it doesn't pay off."

Misato whipped around to face the Doctor, desperation in her eyes. "We'll be just as screwed if NERV gets hold of Shinji again! I'm making a logical decision here!"

"No," Ritsuko said, calmly, "You're just acting on your own guilt."

"This conversation is over." Misato growed. "We're going to Elysium; end of story."

* * *

Asuka could barely make out the silhouette of Shinji Ikari as they sat across from one another in total darkness. The black van shook gently around them as it drove down the road to Itachi Tower. The drive was only a few minutes but it felt like hours. There were few feelings worse than waiting for something terrible.

"So," Asuka whispered, "Let's go over the plan one more time." The purring of the engine masked their voices, keeping their discussion private. "We'll play along for a little while and wait for them to let their guard down. I'll try to go easy on you but we have to make it look real, so I want you to fight as hard as you can ok?"

The boy was visibly uncomfortable. "I could probably knock this thing on it's side if I wasn't bound in place." he pointed out. "If I hit you too hard..."

Asuka remembered his bout against the old man. "Alright," she said, "Fight as hard as you can, within reason. Now, once the guards are distracted you need to hit the A.T Field as hard as possible. You'll only get one shot at this if you want to save your... family, so make it count ok?"

"I'm not sure I can do it." Shinji replied, "That one time last night was the hardest punch I've ever thrown. I don't know how to make myself angry enough to get through the barrier."

"You must have some idea!?" Asuka grumbled, "You said you've had this strength for months; you've had plenty of time to experiment."

"Yeah," Shinji said, "But if I've only got one shot then I want to know it'll work. I don't want anymore good people to die because of me."

Asuka shook her head. "It's too late for that Shinji, you know that." It was a cruel thing to say, but it was true. The Third Child bowed his head in shame. "Look," Asuka said, "The most important thing is that you and I get out. We'll try to save the others but I can't promisemthat noone will die. I still don't know how your powers work, so if you want a surefire solution you'll need to think of one."

The van fell silent as the teen sat in pitch blackness for the remainder of the journey, scouring the depths of his mind for something, anything that might get him and his family out of there.

And as the vehicle came screeching to a halt, and the doors were unlocked, letting a thin ray of sunlight inside, Asuka saw a glint in Shinji's eyes. He had a plan.

The two were blindfolded, and led through the tower with guns pointed at their heads. They came to a halt in a small room, just outside the arena. Asuka's blindfold was removed, and she saw they were sharing the room with four of the villagers: a man, a woman and two girls, one around 8 and another closer to Shinjis age. She didn't recognise them, but Shinji did, as he threw himself into their arms.

"I thought I'd never see you again..." he said, holding the family as tight as possible, as if they might otherwise slip away.

The bearded man winced as Shinji embraced him. All of them had clearly been beaten but the Father had gotten the worst of it, and his body was covered in bruises. "Itachi said he'd give us one more chance to see you, "out of the kindness of his heart"." The man groaned in pain as he wriggled out of Shinji's grip.

"This isn't the end Kaito." the boy said, his eyes practically glowing with resolve, "I'm getting us out of here, all of us."

"You've already done so much for us..." the Wife said, concerned for the kid's safety, "You shouldn't have to put your life at risk for our sake."

"Himari, it's because of me you're stuck here in the first place." Shinji insisted, "I have to do this. I know what I'm doing, so don't worry about me ok?" Himari looked unconvinced, but said nothing.

"Aki," Shinji whispered, "I want you to keep your head low when me and Asuka spring into action. Stay out of sight and make sure you and your parents get out of town as soon as possible. Nevermind me, I'll catch up to you, ok?"

The chid flashed him a thumbs up. "You got it, big brother!" she chirped.

Then Shinji turned to the last of them: the young woman. His hands shook as he summoned the courage to tell the truth. "Ren," he began, "There's something I need to tell you, something I should have told you a while ago..."

"You're Shinji Ikari."

The boy looked like he'd been dope slapped. "How?"

"You said you were friends with someone called Asuka." Ren explained, "Even people out here can recognise Captain Shikinami. Once I knew that, it was easy to figure out who "Rei" was."

Shinji's expression brought to mind a child who'd been caught raiding the cookie jar. "I can explain..."

"Shinji..." Ren began, "I-"

The door swung open, and Akira Kimura stepped into the room, flanked by about a dozen guards. He wore an easy smile on his face, as if he wasn't about to send two children to their deaths. "Alright kids, times up." he said, "Show starts in five minutes. The man stepped towards the Hamasakis, but Shinji put himself between them, his fists raised.

"Get away from them!" he snarled. But before the boy could throw the first punch, Asuka held him back.

"Smart girl." Akira said, smirking at the young woman. "You know Shikinami, there's a saying about people like you..." He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "When the mama bird has eaten all the spiders, the chicks will leave the nest."

She understood perfectly.

"Well, have a nice life." the Agent said, his brown ponytail swaying from side to side as he left the room, taking the guards with him. Himari gave the Pilots one last sad look as she and her family were led out the door, leaving the two alone again.

"They, seemed nice." said Asuka, who could see the fear and desperation in Shinji's eyes.

"They are." he replied, "Even knowing who I was, what I'd done, they still took me in, treated me like one of them. For a while, it was almost like with..."

"With Misato."

Shinji's breathing began to quicken. Asuka quickly changed the subject before he suffered another breakdown.

"Look we'll get them out of here alright?" she told him. "Our mutual friend will take care of that."

"What are you talking about?"

She kept her voice hushed and her mouth covered as she told him about Agent 12; how he'd secretly been working for Misato and his plans to break them out.

"Do I know him from somewhere?" Shinji wondered aloud, "He looks kinda familiar."

"You seriously don't know who?" Asuka snorted, "Stupid Shinji, that was-"

She was interrupted by the ungodly screech of metal against metal as the doors to the arena creaked open, revealing an entire audience of men and women from the slums, surrounded by armed guards.

"Guess it'll have to wait." Asuka grumbled as they stepped into the light, towards the ring. "You ready?"

The boy shrugged. "No..."

"Me neither." Asuka quipped, "Let's do this."

Itachi's grating voice echoed around them as they were shoved into the cage. "Ladies an' Gentleman!" he shrieked, "It's time for out Main Event, right here in Itachi Tower!" In one corner: Airforce Captain, Eva Pilot and constant pain in the ass, Asuka Shikinami! And in the other corner, from the stagnant slums of Elysium: superpowered brat and even bigger pain in the ass, Kenji Rokubungi!" The audience had little to no reaction, they just wanted this sordid mess to end already. Shinji made a note to pull out the Mayor's vocal chords when he got a hold of him. "Alright everybody, let the slaughter begin!"

Shinji put up his dukes and cautiously shuffled towards The Second Child. He knew they had to make it realistic, but he clearly wasn't comfortable hitting someone so close to him.

Asuka, on the other hand, was on him in an instant, and the boy just barely managed to block a flurry of punches, before he was rattled by a roundhouse kick and knocked on his ass by a single leg sweep.

"You said you were gonna go easy on me!" he moaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"I am going easy on you!" Asuka hissed back. "Now get up! And keep your eyes on we're I'm aiming, your defense is pathetic!"

Shinji clumsily pulled himself to his feet and threw a single punch at her. It was a little clumsy, and she easily weaved out of the way, but it looked like he'd been practicing. Asuka grabbed hold of his wrist and pressed her palm against his back, twisting his body unnaturally.

"Ahh! Aaaahh!" Shinji groaned, trying to pull away without success. It was amazing how effective such a simple hold could be. "L- let go, let go!"

"Don't be such a baby!" Asuka growled, "I'm barely putting pressure on you!"

Shinji wriggled helplessly in her grasp as she held him in place with ease. He could probably force his way out if he really tried but he was still afraid of hurting her. Desperate to break the hold he kicked wildly at Asuka's midriff but she caught his leg with ease, pulling him down and putting him in an ankle lock.

And there was the opening he needed. The moment he touched the ground, Shinji rolled onto his back and kicked at her with his free leg. It was a glancing blow, but still strong enough to knock her off her feet. The Eva Pilot rolled backwards onto a kneeling position, then leapt at her opponent, hoping to tackle him. She was stopped dead in her tracks, as Shinji spread his legs and dug his heels into the floor. He slowly raised his fist high into the air, giving Asuka the time she needed to slip away. At least he knew how to hold back.

"Since when do you know how to fight!?" the girl asked in disbelief.

"My sensei taught me." Shinji told her, with a touch of pride. Asuka smirked back at him. His might have been fun, if their lives weren't on the line.

"You're almost competent." she said, running at him at full speed, "I might have to start trying soon!" She slid between the boy's legs with little effort, taking his leg out from under him and dodging a wild punch. "You really need to watch your back." Asuka said, mockingly as she pinned him to the ground with her foot.

"I've noticed..." Shinji groaned, using his sheer strength to push himself back up and throwing Asuka off balance. Seeing the opportunity, he ducked behind the girl, put her in a Full Nelson, and just held her there.

"You know Shinji," Asuka mumbled, "This isn't gonna beat me. A Full Nelson is used to restrain someone, you can't just put someone in the hold and win the fight."

"No," Shinji whispered, nodding towards the stands, "Look."

She looked past the bars of the cage to see Agent 12, creeping through the audience. The man snuck past each and every guard, subtly planting something on the back of their necks, sedating them in the process. Finally he came to Hiroki, the one guarding the Hamasakis. Unlike the others, he seemed to catch on to what Akira was doing, and pointed his gun at Aki's head.

"Oh great..." Asuka growled under her breath, "Now what do we do?" She looked over her shoulder to see Shinji with a look of pure, unbridled rage on his face. Not only that, his eyes had turned red; glowing red.

The boy released Asuka from the hold and leapt forward, bursting through the cage wall, and the A.T Field like it was nothing. Hiroki looked up just in time to see Shinji Ikari flying towards him before he was tackled to the ground. The kid beat the absolute shit out if him, raining punch after punch down on the man as if every strike was earning him money.

"You little bastard!" Itachi screamed as Shinji left his Right Hand bloodied and beaten. "How dare you do this to me! I own your ass now, and you will do as I say, you worthless little brat!"

The Mayor set the shock collar to maximum voltage, but Shinji just shrugged it off. "My name," he snarled, "Is Shinji Ikari, and you do not own me!" He manifested an A.T Field and struck it with all his might, sending a powerful shockwave into Itachi's skybox and bringing it crashing to the ground. The man lay in the rubble, desperately trying to scrabble away over a pile of bloody concrete.

Shinji heard a gun going off behind him, and looked back to see Hiroki pointing a sidearm at his head. The thug slumped against the wall, and slid down to the floor, dead as a nail. Standing behind him was Agent 12, holding a smoking machine pistol. "Thanks..." Shinji said.

Akira shrugged. "Hey, anything for a friend." he quipped.

"What the hell did you just do!?" Asuka yelled, running over to them as the room erupted into chaos. Up close, she finally got a good look at Shinji and how his body had changed. His hair had turned from dark brown to pitch black, his skin had become subtly paler, and his muscles were more noticeable and defined.

"I'm not sure what I did." Shinji replied, "Zeruel called it a Pseudo Awakening."

"A what!?" the girl shouted back. "Do you know what you could have done!? You could have killed us all!"

"We're alive aren't we!?"

The sound of explosions began to echo around he tower. "They're here..." the agent said, grimly, "We need to get out of here before NERV tears this city apart."

Shinji looked back to see Ginjiro Itachi ducking behjnd a hidden door in he wall. "Make sure my family gets out alive ok? I'll take care of Itachi!"

Asuka grabbed his shoulder. "Shinji, no!" she yelled, "He's already lost! Let's just get out of here while we still can!"

"Sorry," he said, walking away, "But I've got a score to settle..."

"Shinji!" Asuka screamed as the boy disappeared behind a cloud of smoke and dust, "SHINJI!"

* * *

Next Time: Part 1 Finale: Outside the Wall


	21. Outside The Wall

Before we start things off, I'd like to address a comment from Chapter 20, which pointed out that the breakout at the end happened a little too quickly. I'll admit that I'm not especially proud of that Chapter, and I ended up rushing it in order to push out a Chapter that was already long overdue. I've tried to remedy that with the Finale by showing the struggle the Villagers go through.

Well here we are, the final chapter of (Never) Alone Part One. While Chapter 18 was the one I looked forward to writing the most, this is the one Chapter I dreaded writing. The main reason for this was that the beginning and the end of a story are more likely to stick with the reader than any other part of it and with the end of Part One, it became especially difficult to balance my own vision with the reader's desires. But, at the same time I still enjoyed writing it. So, I hope you all enjoy reading the Finale of Part One as much as I did.

-Rollinaround

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Part One Finale

Outside The Wall

* * *

The screen came to life, displaying the image of Mayor Ginjiro Itachi. The man's hair was draped over his face, covered in dust, and he had a huge gash along his cheek.

"Good morning Ginjiro," said Commander Ikari, sounding less than impressed. "Bad news I assume?"

"You dont know the half of it..." The Mayor gasped, wiping the blood and sweat from his brow. "Everythin's gone ta shit up here: the lower classes are tearin' up the streets, the Wunder is right at my frickin' doorstep, that Shikinami bitch got away from me, and there's this stupid brat comin' after-"

Gendo cut him off. The man could talk at a mile a second when he was angry enough. "Captain Shikinami?" he asked, "I thought I ordered her executed at once?"

"Yeah, I know whatcha' said," the Mayor stammered, "But I had this other kid with these weird powers who was givin' me hell and I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone and-"

"Enough" the Commander said, coldly, "I will deal with the consequences of you stupidity in due time. Now, what is this babble about some other child? What do you mean when you say 'powers'?"

The Mayor was about ready to pull his hair out from stress. "I mean he's got goddamned super strength! The little prick can punch through metal! Not only that but he's got an A.T Field and he can make shockwaves with his fist and a probably buncha' other shit I don't know about! I dunno what 'is deal is; he just showed up a few months ago and started beatin' up my boys! He- he's gotta be some kinda superpowered sleeper agent or somethin'!"

"And why wasn't his brought to my attention earlier?" The color drained from the Mayors face.

"Well..." Itachi scratched his head nervously. He was hiding something. "I- I mean I just didn't think it'd be that important to ya and I figured I could handle 'im myself and, and..."

"ITACHI!"

The furious screams of a teenage boy echoed through the halls, along with the sounds of solid metal being torn apart.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?"

The Commander recognized that voice almost immediately. "Is that my son?"

"Well..." Itachi began, his face the very picture or terror. "I- I mean the kid was attacking me an' my men, so I had to do somethin' to protect my business..."

"So let me make sure I have this right," Gendo maintained his calm, collected his expression, even as his body was practically quivering in rage. "You knew the Third Child was alive this whole time and you didn't think to tell me until after you tried to kill him?" Itachi went pale. Gendo would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little bit satisfied, seeing a lowlife like Ginjiro have his whole world crumble before him. "I think we're done here. I've already sent my strongest forces to deal with Katsuragi. There is nothing more I can do for you at this point and frankly you have exhausted your worth. I think I shall leave your fate in the hands of my son." The image on the Mayor shook furiously as the battle between WILLE and NERV raged on around him. "Sayonara Ginjiro."

The man leaned back in his chair as the screen cut to black. Now there was nothing left to do but wait. Victory was all but assured and NERV would recapture Shinji Ikari once the dust had settled. But Gendo hadn't gotten this far by betting everything on one horse. And so he picked up the phone, and called his Vice Commander. "Fuyutsuki, how are things progressing with Project Gemini."

"We're about halfway there." Kozo replied, "The genetic code is just about complete. After that, all that remains to bring our bioweapon to life."

"Put a hold on that for a moment." Gendo ordered him, "I have a few... suggestions."

* * *

"How are you finding the new Unit 08, Pilot Makinami?"

Hanging from the underside of the AAA Wunder was what could only be described as a Frankensteins Monster of an Evangelion. The armless Unit had been fitted with an ugly orange chassis, and the whole thing had obviously been cobbled together at the last minute. It looked as if Unit 08 had literally been put back together with duct tape.

"I'd say I'll get used to it," Mari snarked, "But I doubt we'll ever use it again."

"Please don't jinx it." Maya said, massaging her temple, "Things are bad enough already."

The Pilot laid back, practically lounging in her Entry Plug as it filled with LCL. "Oh well, it's the first time I've piloted an Eva in forever, so I'll put up with it."

"Look alive everyone!" Misato barked as the city came into view, "We'll be arriving in Elysium in about 5 minutes. We have to be ready to engage at any moment. We have no idea when NERV is going to show up and we can't afford to drop our guard for even a second."

Everyone was on edge. For almost 15 years it had felt like every battle could be their last, but the recovery of Unit 01 had given them real hope. The power of the Wunder had made them feel like they finally had the edge in battle. But now? Now it felt like they were marching straight to the executioners block.

A series of mounted turrets rose up from the walls of Elysium. Each of them was loaded with high powered, superheated rounds that could rip a tank to shreds. But the Ship of Hope was not a tank, and the glowing hot ammunition bounced off the A.T Field like rubber bullets. The battleships surrounding the Wunder fired back, reducing several of the turrets to scrap metal. The rest of them quickly sank back into the wall. The battle was over in under a minute.

"This is Captain Katsuragi of the AAA Wunder." Misato said, opening communications with the city, "Your defenses have been wiped out and your connections to NERV have been revealed. You have 10 minutes to surrender control of the city, along with Shinji Ikari and Asuka Shikinami, or we will take them by force." They received no response. Itachi was waiting for reinforcements from NERV, it was only a matter of time before they struck.

The earth below them began to shake, and the blood red sand rose up in massive pillars, encircling the city. The dust fell away to reveal over a dozen black discs, surrounded by purple and yellow pylons. Their steel tendrils melded together, forming a circular prison as they hovered above the ground. Evangelion Mark 4Cs. The flying saucers flipped on their sides, ready to fire upon WILLE, but they were only the first ingredient in NERVs recipe for destruction.

A jet black pod soared over Elysium, the words "MP EVA-000" written along it's sides in big red letters. The pod split apart, and a towering humanoid figure hit the ground with a deafening boom, bringing down several buildings in it's wake. The Eva stood a few feet higher than Unit-08, it's unnaturally thin body hunched over like an animal. A horned crown sat atop it's vaguely human head. It's mouth was filled with razor sharp steel fangs, and it's red visor seemed to stare a hole through WILLEs fleet as it's gentle glow illuminated the EVAs sickly green body.

The Wunder released Mari's Unit from it's constraints. The ship pulled up into the air, sticking to Katsuragi's plan but the Nemesis Series caught it in their tendrils, holding the ship in place. The top row of Code 4Cs charged their weapons as the new Evangelion lunged at Mari, pinning her Unit to the ground and biting into it's head.

"Holy shit, this thing's strong..." Mari groaned, spinning the yellow chassis around, smacking the green Eva in the face, and launching Unit-08 back to it's feet. But the Mass Produced Evangelion kept it's grip. She charged forward, hoping to ram it into the wall of Nemesis, but she was knocked back to the ground by a blast from one of the Code-4Cs. The MP Unit pounced on Eva-08, but the Wunder shot it out of the sky with it's mounted cannons.

"Now Mari!" shouted Misato as a hail of cannon fire kept the MP Eva at bay, while Unit-08 dodged and weave between a volley of cross-shaped lazer beams. Mari leapt into the air, turning her Unit upside down and showering the Code 4Cs with hot lead, at a rate of 4000 rpm. Three quarters of the Nemesis Series were torn apart in a flash, freeing up the Wunders body and leaving only the saucers wrapped around it's wings. The ship turned over, facing the ground and spun in place, whirling the Nemeses around and throwing them into the MP Eva, just as they fired their lasers. The MP Eva was engulfed in a ball of red energy. Fortunately the Wunder had thrown it away from the city, preventing any human casualties, but when the dust had settled, the Eva rose to it's feet, virtually unharmed.

"Never easy is it?" Ritsuko mused to herself as she lit up another cigarette. "Pilot Makinami, do everything you can to keep that Eva in place; we're going to hit that thing with everything we've got!"

Mari charged at the green titan, emptying her guns into it, only to watch the spray of gun fire stop dead in it's tracks against the MP Unit's barrier. She quickly detached the guns, revealing a pair of hydraulic claws and just barely pushing through the A.T Field. She latched onto the MPs arms and squeezed as tight as she could. But the new Eva was stronger than it looked, and the Wunder only had time to get in a couple of shots before it pulled Unit-08 upwards and slammed it into the ground. It sank it's teeth into Eva 08s shoulder, and Mari shrieked in pain as it bit into her again and again.

Every single weapon in WILLEs fleet fired upon the Mass Produced Eva but it did little more than scratch the paint off the thing. Rolling backwards, Mari was just barely able to throw the beast off of her. She lunged at the Eva, grabbing it by the core and applying maximum pressure to the red orb. It was just beginning to crack when Mari felt something blunt and hard connect with her forehead. The Eva had headbutted her. Everything turned upside down as she was tossed into the air, falling straight through the city walls.

The Prototype Evangelion loomed over Unit-08 as it staggered towards her, like some kind of zombie. The pink Eva Unit tried to stand but it's legs had been badly damaged, leaving it immobile below the waist. "We can't win this!" Ritsuko yelled, "We need to retrieve Unit-08 and retreat from the area as soon as possible!" The Captain gritted her teeth. The MP Eva stood between the Wunder and Unit-08. Their weapons had proved ineffective. They might be able to ram it out of the way, but at that altitude, the risk of crashing was astronomically high, and if the Eva withstood the attack they'd be a sitting duck.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Ibuki yelled, "We're getting some very strange readings from the main engine!" The woman looked horrified. "They're the same readings we saw back in December of 2015. Eva Unit 01, it's awakened!"

The ship began to tremble around them, and an unholy roar echoed through the ship. The front split open like a beak, firing a beam of pure, concentrated energy, something they thought beyond it's power. The beam skewered the MP Eva right through it's chest, shattering the core and destroying the aberration in a huge explosion. The awakening ended as quickly as it began, and the readings soon returned to normal.

"It's a miracle..." Hideki said as the ship descended to recover Unit-08, but the Captain and Vice Captain knew better.

"Shinji..." Misato whispered, "What have you done?"

In the minutes proceeding Shinji and Asuka's breakout, Itachi Tower had turned from a government building and entertainment center to a flat out warzone. Driven by righteous fury, the villagers had taken guns from the unconscious guards and stormed the halls, gunning down anyone still loyal to the Mayor. The stainless steel hallways were splattered with the blood of guards, villagers and a few innocents who got caught in the crossfire.

Agent 12 looked on in horror as one of the farmers charged madly at a pair of suits, only to be blown to pieces by a frag grenade. The killer had acted rashly, and the explosion brought the ceiling down on him and his partner. "This is insane!"

Asuka had stayed behind to go after Shinji. They both agreed that he could handle a punk like Itachi, but it wasn't the Mayor she was trying to save him from.

The man crept through Itachi Tower, staying well behind the mob. It was an ugly sight to say the least. The place was a mess of scrap metal, and ravaged corpses. The nauseating stench of blood was thick in the air as he reached the ground floor. Sunlight poured through the doorway, and the sound of gunfire could be heard in the distance. "Alright..." he said, reloading his gun, "Time to get out of here."

Agent 12 shuddered as he looked out into the city. As bad as the tower had been, this was even worse. Smoke covered the streets, allowing him to sneak past Itachi's men, who had practically become a death squad, firing on every villager they saw. Of cause, a lot of them fought back, but the city guard was backed up by armored vehicles and heavy turrets.

The man choked on concrete dust as he ran through the Commercial District. He was heading for the residential area, back to his bunker. The shockwave from an explosion knocked him off his feet as a nearby electronics store went up in flames. The owner was slumped against the windowsill, his body smoldering. Agent 12 looked back on his boyhood dream, how he had longed to join the military and fight for the safety of mankind. "Why'd I ever want the job?" he asked himself.

The Residential District remained mostly intact, being roughly on the edge of the battlefield, but there was still the odd firefight going on between the apartment buildings. His heart nearly stopped as he watched a family of three, fleeing one the Mayors thugs, barely avoiding a hail of gunfire. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" the Agent screamed, trying to yank the gun away, "Those are non combatants!"

"Doesn't matter what they are." the man shrugged, "Orders were to kill anyone from the slums no exceptions." Agent 12 felt his blood pressure rising. To see such callous disregard for life drove him mad. Before he could stop himself, he pulled out his machine pistol and shot the guard dead through the chest. The man fell to his knees, coughing up blood as his life came to a swift, and brutal end.

The family backed away as Agent 12 approached them. He quickly recognized the Father; it was Kaito Hamasaki. "Hey, hey! It's alright," he said, "I'm not one of them... Look, I know a place we can hide; it's not too far from here. You want me to take you there, lay low until the fightings done?"

Kaito gave him a long hard look. He still didn't trust him, but he didn't have much of a choice. "Okay..."

"Alright," said Agent 12, taking the boy's hand, "Follow me, and move as fast as you can. It's not safe out here."

There was a rumbling off in the distance, and then a thunderous crash as Eva Unit-08 fell onto the city wall, turning it to rubble. "Sweet Jesus..." the man muttered to himself as he lead the Hamasaki's back to safety.

The moment they were in the clear, he switched on his computer and entered his password: Kentoshin15. Pulling on his headset, he brought up the messenger and sent the AAA Wunder one last report.

"This is Agent 12. I've released Ikari and the Captain from Itachi's custody. Bad news: we got seperated from the Third Child. Something, strange happened to him; I've never seen him this angry before, not even back in the day... Captain Shikinami's gone back to get him. With any luck, they'll be here soon. Agent 12, signing out."

The family sat at the other end of the room. A lot of the noise had died down, but it was too risky to leave just yet. Their Daughter was trembling like mad. "Are you a friend of Shinjis?" she asked him.

"Oh yeah." the man replied, "He and I go way back." That took away a bit of the tension.

"Is he gonna be alright?"

"I dunno kid," Agent 12 replied, "I dunno..."

* * *

The artificial human leapt at Asuka Shikinami, letting out an eye piercing screech as it swung at her. The Second Child ducked out of the way, and it's titanium claws tore the wall open. The creature spun it's head around just in time to see the flash of Asuka's gun barrel. The fight was over in the blink of an eye, it's CPU irreparably damaged by two shots, fired at point blank from the high powered rifle that Agent 12 had given her.

Viscous black fluid poured from the Mark 4Ds head, staining the arena floor. "What the hell is this doing in Itachi tower?" Asuka wondered, examining the robot close up. It's side was sloppily welded shut, right around the spot where it's beacon should be. That bastard Itachi must have been salvaging them in case something like this happened. Asuka left the Nemesis to rust. She had more important things to do.

It didn't take her long to find the secret passage to Floor 19, mostly because the door was torn right off it's hinges. There was none of the stylish decor that could be found on other levels. Floor 19 was bare, save for the purple scrap metal, scattered upon the floor. Asuka found the remains of over a hundred Type D Nemeses, decapitated, ripped apart, punched straight through the chest. It didn't take a genius to name the culprit. The greatest concentration of them could be found lying in a pile outside a large, barren cell. One have them had been slammed against the wall, flattening it's head like a pancake.

There were a few more grim spectacles as the Second Child crept her way down the halls, in particular an abandoned laboratory filled with broken cores, jammed into intricate devices; Itachi's failed attempts at creating his own A.T generators and Anti-Eva defenses. A pair of 4Ds wandered about the facility, another pair of stragglers that had managed to slip away in the midst of Shinji's rampage. Asuka put a bullet in each of their heads. Even without their beacons, letting them onto the streets could be disastrous.

Finally she came to Itachi's secret office, a lone, gigantic computer than took up an entire wall. It's screen was cracked in a spiderweb pattern the ceiling had a huge hole in it, and Asuka could see the blades of a helicopter just above her. She took the elevator up to the roof, dreading to think what she might see up there.

The doors creaked open and there he was. Shinji Ikari sat on the edge, staring down onto the city of Elysium. His clothes were spattered with blood and black fluid and his long, dirty hair blew in the wind, revealing a blank, emotionless face. There was only one way Asuka could describe him:

Lost.

* * *

Shinji stomped his way through Floor 19, his eyes trained on Ginjiro Itachi the whole time. He always remained a few paces behind the Mayor. It wasn't enough to finish the man quickly, he was going to draw this out; he wanted to scare Itachi.

The old man scrambled away from him, his breathing erratic as he rushed past a glass window. He grinned like a maniac as Shinji approached, looking through the window to find a sea of Type D Nemeses, scraping at the reinforced glass. Their unholy screams grating on his ears. "Go on boys," Itachi said, "Rip this little shit apart!" He pulled a lever on the wall and sprinted away before the robots came for him.

A clawed hand reached through the gradually opening door and dug it's sharpened fingers into the wall. Nemesis after Nemesis stepped out into the corridor. Their eyes glowed in the darkness, nearly blinding Shinji as they crouched down like feral beasts, before lunging at the boy, aiming their claws at his neck. All they did was slow him down. The robots landed face first against his barrier, scraping at it pitifully before he struck it with his fist, and over a hundred Code 4Ds were sent flying.

A few of them shattered against the wall, while the rest of them pulled themselves to their feet, getting ready to pounce again. The boy marched into them, unflinchingly as they pounced at him.

What followed was an absolute slaughter. The first one fell upon his fist, busting a hole right through it before being tossed it at it's brethren. Another tried to claw his head off, but Shinji caught it's hand, ripped the limb off and beat it inactive with it's own arm. Dozens of Nemeses were turned to scrap in Shinjis wake. One got ripped apart, another stomped into oblivion, and the final Nemesis tried to strangle him to death, only to have it's head smashed into the wall, leaving a dent the size of a small crater.

 **"Pitiful..."** the Tenth Angel mused, **"To think this is what NERV hoped to conquer the planet with. We can only hope the Mayor's end is more enjoyable."**

'Oh it will be,' Shinji thought, 'For us at least. He can't run forever. Sooner or later we'll corner him and then-'

 **"Look out!"**

Shinji noticed the pressure plate sink beneath his foot just in time, manifesting his A.T Field, just as the explosion went off, throwing him backwards into the wall. Up to this point, the boy had been furious. Now he was livid. "ITACHI!" he screamed, shooting down the hallway as fast as his feet would carry him, "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

He knew he was getting close when he heard a familiar voice around the corner. "And quite frankly, you have exhausted your worth." his Father's words echoed through the halls. "I think I shall leave your fate in the hands of my son. Sayonara Ginjiro."

Shinji whipped around the corner to see the Mayor ducking into the elevator. He launched his A.T Field at the man, missing him by a gnats hair and breaking the giant computer at the back of the room.

Itachi burst out of the elevator as quick as he could manage. Waiting for him was a lone helicopter, his last resort in the event of rebellion. He was almost in the clear when he felt the floor quake beneath him, before it suddenly ripped open. Shinji Ikari landed in front of the Mayor, his face the very picture of rage.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

Itachi stumbled backwards, quaking in fear as the teen backed him up against the wall. "Oh come on, what's the rush? Relax, sit down!" He drove his foot into the Mayor's stomach, bringing the older man to his knees. "We're gonna be here for a while."

Itachi pulled a gun on the kid and shot him right between the eyes, to no effect. Shinji glared at the man, severely unimpressed, and stomped his face into the floor. Over the past months the boy had gotten pretty good at restraining his own strength, and he wanted to make this last as long as he could.

"You worthless little prick!" the Mayor growled as Shinji pulled him up by his hair. "You come into my city, mess with my businesses, and now you think you can take my city from me!? I lived through two friggin' Impacts and I'm not gonna let some snot nosed little-"

The teen silenced him with a knee to the face. The old man tried to crawl away and retrieve his gun, but Shinji stepped on his hand, breaking it. "My Sensei is dead because of you..." he whispered, grabbing the man's arm and yanking him up. He revelled in the terror he saw in his eyes. "You're a fool if you think you can get away with this!" He kicked Itachi in the legs, snapping them both like twigs and the man fell to the floor, screaming like a banshee.

"You know, you were right about me Itachi." Shinji said, kicking him in the ribs again and again, leaving the Mayor a pathetic, whining mess, "I do enjoy beating you up. You've caused me and my friends so much misery, it feels good to share some of that pain with you." His voice was eerily calm.

Itachi rolled onto his back, blood dripping from his face and staining his expensive suit. "Stop..." he wheezed, making a pathetic attempt to pull himself back up. "Please..."

The boy seethed with anger. After everything he'd done, to him, to his family, to his sensei, this piece of garbage had the nerve to beg for mercy? "You want it to stop?" he said, grabbing the man by his neck. "Alright."

He dragged Itachi over to the helicopter, took his keys, and turned on the engine. The blades came to life, moving slowly at first, then picking up speed until thry seemed to blur together. Itachi sputtered out a few week protests, but the noise from the helicopter drowned him out. Shinji lifted the bastard into the air, holding him mere inches away from the blades. "THIS IS FOR EVERYONE YOU'VE KILLED!" The Mayor squirmed weakly in his grip. No matter how hard the man fought, nothing stood between Ginjiro Itachi, and a brutal end.

Shinji tried to lift his arms to feed Itachi into the blades, but they wouldn't move. Every time he tried to finish the job, something held him back; something kept pulling at the back of his mind.

He heard a voice in his head. It belonged to Sakura Suzuhara.

"My brother is dead because of you."

He tried to shake it off. He couldn't stop now he'd come too far already.

But then, Asuka's voice whispered in his mind.

"You're a fool if you think you're getting away with this."

He felt his arms grow heavy as he lowered the man back to the ground.

"This is for everyone you've killed." Misato growled.

And finally, he heard his voice.

"Murderer."

Itachi dropped to the ground, cackling like a madman. Shinji turned away. His mind ran amok with images of Wilson, Toji; Kensuke, Hikari; Asuka, Misato; Kaworu, Rei, and all of the millions of people hurt by his actions. He was disturbed by the wretched laughter of the Mayor. "I knew it!" the old man shrieked, at last finding the strength to stand again, "You don't have it in-"

Shinji nearly broke his hand on the worms face. Itachi's feet left the ground, and the back of his head smashed into the helicopter, knocking him out cold.

The former Eva Pilot sat on the edge, gazing down into the city. The Wunder had landed, and WILLE's soldiers were beginning to flood the city, arresting Itachi's men and tending to the injured. Villagers gathered around an emergency clinic WILLE had set up. Many of them were sead, dying, or badly injured; yet more victims of Shinji Ikari's stupidity.

He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. He just felt, empty inside. Just when he was starting to feel like there was a place for him in the world, it had all come crumbling down in front of him.

He felt a hand on his shoulder; he knew it was Asuka.

"What am I doing?" Shinji asked himself. "What the hell am I doing? No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, all I do is hurt people..." He stared down at his hands, stained with blood. "This... this is like some kind of sick joke..."

"Shinji..." Asuka whispered, her voice full of pity.

He held onto the girl's arm, clinging to it with all his strength, as if it was his lifeline, and he a lone sailor in a storm. It didn't make him any happier, but with his old friend beside him, he felt braver; stronger.

He looked beyond the wall, to the ruins of his would-be home, and he knew what he had to do.

"Asuka..." he said, looking back at the one-eyed girl, "You win. I'm going back with you..."

Elysium's slums had never been an especially pretty town. It was, after all a ramshackle community built from scrap metal. But the Mayor's actions, and the battle with Nerv had left the place looking like a dumping ground. Fate had shown them at least some mercy, as the farm and Water Treatment Plant had miraculously survived, but the town itself had been decimated, leaving only a few lonely houses undamaged.

A convoy of trucks waited outside the city wall. Many of the smallfolk chose to stay behind. They were the kind of people who liked to stay in one place, and with Itachi out of power, they finally had an opportunity to live in the main city. But due to the damage caused by there were more citizens than Elysium could handle, and a number of them decided to leave, either to make space for the others or seek a more peaceful home.

And sadly, the Hamasakis were among them, as was Ren.

"I'm sorry I lied to you..." Shinji told the girl, staring down at his feet in shame. "It's just, I was afraid that if I knew who I was, you'd hate me."

Ren sighed as she slung her pack over her shoulder. "I don't hate you." she told him. "I don't even dislike you. I just don't think things can be the same between us. Everytime I look at you I just end up thinking of what happened to my home, to my family." She looked away, weary from the whole sordid experience. "I know you didn't mean to cause Third Impact, but like I said, that doesn't change what happened."

She could see the boy was upset, and lay a hand atop his head. "It's ok." she said, "You'll get over me. You just need to find someone who loves you for who you are, instead of who you aren't." Ren gave the boy a reassuring pat, before hopping on the back of a truck. "Good luck kid."

He smiled weakly, putting on a brave face as he went to say goodbye to his family.

"Are you going to be alright, Shinji?" Himari asked him as she and her family prepared to leave town.

"I don't know," Shinji replied, "I don't know what I'm going to do from here. All I was ever really good for was piloting an Eva..."

Kaito gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry lad, I'm sure it'll work out. You still have people looking out for you after all."

Shinji looked back towards the Wunder, where Asuka, Mari and Akira waited for him. "Yeah..." he said, "I guess I do."

There were hugs all around as they said goodbye. Aki clung to the boy so hard she practically strangled him. "Don't worry." he told them, "When this war is over, I'll come find you all. We'll see each other again."

Himari smiled warmly at him. "We'll do our best to make it easier for you." There was one more round of hugs, before Kaito, Himari and Aki joined the convoy. "Goodbye big brother!" Aki yelled, waving farewell.

Shinji took a deep breath, and went to join the others.

"Good ta see you again Puppy Boy!" Mari said, ruffling his hair like a child. "It's been so boring on the ship lately, I was running out of material to tease the Princess with."

Shinji grunted in annoyance as he pulled away. "Th- thanks, I think." he said, tidying his hair as best he could. "Mari was it? It's, good to see you too."

Mari smirked adorably as the agent stepped forward. "I'm uh, sorry for tranqing you back there " he said, sheepishly, "It was either that or let Hiroki blow you away, and I couldn't afford tp blow my cover, you know."

Shinji took a deep breath. "Well, you did spring me loose eventually." he said, "So I guess we're even."

"If it helps, I'd never have done that if I knew it was you."

Shinji felt like he was missing the pumchline to a joke everybody knew. "I'm sorry, I don't wanna be rude but, who are you exactly?"

"Still don't recognise me huh?" the man scoffed, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I have changed a little over the years." He pulled of his shades, revealing a set of freckles underneath, and replaced them with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Finally, Shinji recognised him.

"Kensuke!?"

"Yep." Shinji's friend said, "I managed to get out of the dead zone when Third Impact kicked off. After that I fell in with WILLE. I was hoping to be a soldier but, you can see how that turned out."

"So," Shinji asked, feeling hopeful, "If you're alive, does that mean Toji?"

Kensuke shook his head. "No..." he said gloomily, "He didn't make it." The boy looked heartbroken. "But, I know that if he did, he'd have your back all the way."

"Thank you," the kid sniffed, "That makes it a little better..."

"We'd better leave soon." Asuka said, "Repairs are complete, and we need to get out of here before NERV comes looking for us."

Shinji nodded, taking one last longing look back at Ren as the convoy drove away.

"It would never have worked Bratty Shinji." she told him, "Sooner or later she'd start to get old while you stayed the same, and she'd figure out who you were. Even if she accepted you, people would start asking questions and you'd end up in trouble."

"Sure you're not just jealous?" Mari teased, earning herself a withering look from Asuka.

"I know Asuka." Shinji said, "What's gonna happen to Elysium, now the UN's in control?"

"The organization will send some of their men down to establish their new leadership." Asuka explained, "They'll most likely expand on the city's farmlands and cut down on luxuries; it's important that we conserve resources for the war effort after all. The upper classes will have to make some adjustments, but the citizens of Elysium will be treated better from now on."

"Do you promise me that?" Shinji asked her.

"Of course I do!" Asuka snapped, "It's not like we're monsters!"

"I know..." the boy mumbled, hanging his head.

"And neither are you."

Shinji didn't get it.

"You're not a monster." she assured him, "You're a lot of things. You're an idiot, you're a brat and you're probably the biggest screw up who ever lived but you're not a bad person. Even if it all went wrong in the end, you at least tried to help people. If nothing else that makes you better than Ginjiro."

"Thank you Asuka." her friend replied, "That means a lot to me."

"And hey," Mari added, "Either way, Ginjiro's going to jail and these people'll finally have a leader who cares for them. So in a way, you did make things better. You know; in a super messed up and unintentional kind of way."

"Not helping Mari!" Asuka growled.

One question still nagged at him. "Um, Asuka? What's going to happen to me when we get back aboard?"

"I honestly have no idea." she replied, "The Colonel talked the UN into giving you the benefit of the doubt before, but it's gonna be hard to argue for you after Fourth Impact, and the world will likely want you to face some kind of punishment. What happens after this really is up in the air."

Shinji looked crestfallen. "I see."

"Still sure you want to come?"

Shinji answered her in a heartbeat. "Yes."

Asuka looked genuinely surprised. "You could have run you know?"

"That does sound like me doesn't it?" he snarked. "No. Even if I did, Dad would have caught up with me sooner or later. Besides, it wouldn't feel right to just stay behind while my friends are dying because of me." Asuka studied him carefully, making the boy more than a little bit nervous. "Is... is that better?"

"It's a start." she shrugged. She held her hand out for him. "Ready to go?"

He looked up at the Wunder, which loomed over him like some kind of great, monstrous bird, and wondered what the future had in store for him.

"Don't be afraid." Asuka said, "There are people on board who hate you, but there are also plenty of men and women in our crew, willing to give you a chance. And she may not show it, but Misato still cares about you. I know she'll do everything she can to keep you safe." That seemed to make things a little better.

Shinji had one last look at the village that had taken him in, and took Asuka's hand. "Come on." she said, "Let's go home."

The Third Child pondered his situation as Asuka led him aboard. 'Home...' he thought, 'Where even is that anymore? I've lost every home I had; I don't belong anywhere.'

 **"Clearly they don't think so."** Zeruel said, **"It seems, from their perspective, a home is something more than where you live. Perhaps it can be anywhere, as long as they're with you."**

Shinji thought back on his journey, and the friends who'd stuck by him. Asuka, Kensuke; Mari, the Hamasakis; maybe Sakura too, if he was lucky. Even Misato was still looking out for him if Asuka was to be believed.

It was still a cruel world, crueler than it had ever been before. But maybe Zeruel had a point. Maybe, with his friends behind him, he could one day find a place to call home.

End Part One

* * *

When I first conceived of Evangelion: (Never) Alone, I had originally planned for Shinji to stay in Elysium, with his old friends handling the war with NERV and occasionally contacting him from time to time. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it couldn't end that way. WILLE couldn't allow Shinji to walk free while he was still a danger to mankind, and Shinji's guilt wouldn't allow him to stand by while his loved ones risked their lives to fix his mistake.

At the same time though, I didn't want it to end on a complete downer. Shinji had to end the story in a better place than he was at the end of 3.0. So I decided to go for a bittersweet ending, with Shinji making things better at the end, at a high price, losing his family but with the chance he might find them again, him and Ren splitting up on amicable terms and his relationship with Asuka beginning to heal. I had to make it clear that Shinji Ikari may still find his happiness, even if he has to go through hell for it.

Also as an aside, one reader predicted Shinji would become Elysium's new leader at the end, but it honestly never occurred to me. Obviously everyone has their own interpretation of the character but I just never saw him as someone with the ability or the desire to lead.

Anyways, I'm going to take a week off of writing before I start on Part 2, for a couple of reasons: the first is to give myself a little time to come up with a story plan for Part Two. The second is that the polls have come in, and the vote is split 3 ways, between the 5 way crossover, the What If story with Shinji remaining with WILLE during the events of 3.0, and just focusing on Part Two. With this in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to take some time to decide on which option I should go with, and how I should approach it.

Well, that's it for Part One. Thank you all for taking the time to read my first ever Fanfic. I hope you're all excited for Part Two, and that the sequel will be even better.

See you on August 17th 2019 for (Never) Alone Part Two!


	22. Next Time

_Now back aboard the Wunder, Shinji Ikari tries to find his place among a crew that fears him!_

 _Sakura Suzuhara confronts Shinji over his role in Fourth Impact!_

 _Eva Unit 0208 does battle against the Mass Produced Evas!_

 _WILLE and NERV race to capture the legendary Spear of Cassius!_

 _Project Gemini arrives on the scene, out for blood!_

 _All is in place for the final battle to decide the fate of Planet Earth!_

 _Next Time: Evangelion (Never) Alone Part 2!_

 _And don't forget, much more fanservice!_

Hey everyone! I know I said I wouldn't start writing again until tomorrow but I was honestly beginning to go stir crazy back there. So I slapped together this little Preview, to keep myself busy and get you hyped for Part 2. And just for fun I decided to do it in the style of NGE/Rebuild's next episode previews.

Secondly, one of my readers expressed concern that Shinji would have nothing to do once back on the Wunder and either be executed or stuck in a cell all his life. I just want to quickly assuage those fears and let you all know that Shinji will have stuff to do in Part 2, though maybe not what you were expecting.

Speaking of Part 2, it's out right now! You can find it at this address: /s/13365811/1/Never-Alone-Part-2-Gemini-Rising

Hope to see you there!

-Rollinaround


	23. Episode 212121

**DISCLAIMER:** Because some people were confused by this, I want to make it clear that this is NOT a serious, canon chapter of (Never) Alone. This is just a silly kittle joke chaoter I decided to do after some of my readers expressed a desire to see Itachi get the "7 Page Muda Treatment" (their words). Honestly I might delete this as it's not really necessary and kind of stupid. We'll see.

* * *

 **Evangelion**

 **(Never) Alone**

By Rollinaround

Episode 21.2121

The Beast That Shouted "MUDA" At The Heart Of The World

* * *

Shinji stood proudly on top of Itachi Tower, staring down the bastard who brought him so much pain

"It's over." Shinji told him. "You've lost. The city is free, your men are dead, and your Shriekers have all been destroyed, with the power of my「STAND」!"

A tall, lanky spirt appeared beside the boy, it's skull-like head sitting atop a slender black and white body. It wore a long cape that appeared to be cut into ribbons, and it's chest was marked with a pair of black and white anchors. "「PLASTIC BEACH」!"

The Mayor trembled in fear as Shinji stepped forward, his aura shining brightly in the dim, early morning light. "P- please Mr Shinji! I'll do anything you ask! You can have the city; you can have everything! You- you need money? I can get you money! I've got all the cash in the world!" He began to laugh like a hyena, driven mad from sheer terror.

"Oh, please..." the boy sneered, "Do you really think you'd be that lucky? The debt you owe me... CAN'T BE PAID WITH MONEY!"

「PLASTIC BEACH」lunged at the Mayor, pummeling him in the chest with the force of a sledgehammer abd the speed of a gattling gun.

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

Itachi tried to block 「PLASTIC BEACH'S」fists, but the「STAND」broke right through his guard, beating him in the face until it was warped and twisted.

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

「PLASTIC BEACH」drove it's foot into the man's in the chest, breaking his ribs as it blasted him with block after blow until a straight kick to the chin launched him into the air.

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

Shinji struck Itachi in the arms and legs, snapping them like rotten matchsticks. He kept the Mayor in the air with a flurry of punches, hitting him in the gut until his stomach resembled a deflated ballon.

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

The Third Child tackled the old man out of the air, pinning him to the ground as his「STAND'S」cape morphed into a set of eight bulky arms and beat every inch of Itachi's body, breaking any bones left intact.

"WRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

The man was most likely dead by now, but Shinji was far from done. He had a lot to work through, and Itachi made an excellent punching bag. So he pulled the man up by his head and beat him with all ten arms. Each blow sounded like a magnum firing as he pummeled what was left of the Mayor until he simply got bored of it.

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

Satisfied with his merciless beatdown,「PLASTIC BEACH」struck the Mayor with all of it's might, blasting the man backwards.

"MUDA!"

Ginjiro Itachi collided with his own helicopter, smashing the windows and leaving a huge dent in the side. The chopper fell from the building, taking the Mayor and exploded upon hitting the ground. If Itachi wasn't dead before, he certainly was now.

"It's over..." Shinji said, gazing up at the sky as the spirit of Wilson Clarke appeared in the clouds. "We did it Sensei: the nightmare is over."

The boy smiled to himself as he climbed down from Itachi Tower to meet his family. Soon, he would take his place on the throne of Elysium. But first, he would find Ren and Asuka, and-

* * *

Shinji woke up with a start in the Medical Ward above the AAA Wunder. "What? What happened?"

"You were dreaming." Ritsuko told him, bluntly. "We've been monitoring your brain for signs of Angelic contamination."

"I had the strangest dream." Shinji told her. "I had this weird kind of guardian spirit that was made from my own mental energy or something, and then it beat up Itachi with it's super powers. It looked like the 10th Angel too." The Vice Captain gave him a very concerned look.

"Shinji," she asked him, "While you were imprisoned by the Mayor, he didn't for you to... take anything did he?"

"No. Why?"

End Part 1

* * *

Ending Theme: "Watsername" by Green Day

 _Thought I ran into you down on the street_

 _Then it turnes out to knly be a dream._

 _I made a point to burn all of the photographs._

 _She went away and then I took a different path._

 _I remember the face but I can't recall the name._

 _Now I wonder how Watsername has been._

 _The regrets are useless in my mind._

 _She's in my head I must confess._

 _The regrets are useless in my mind._

 _She's in my head so long ago._

 _And in that darkest night_

 _If my memory serves me right_

 _I'll never turn back time._

 _Forgetting you but not the time._

* * *

Because a surprising amount of people wanted to see Itachi get the 7 Page Muda treatment, a decided to take it to it's logical conclusion with this quick joke chapter. I'm sure this will come back to bite me when people read this story years from now but oh well. Hope you guys at least enjoyed my pathetic attempts at parody and humor.

Right, enough messing around. Time for me to get started on Part 2: Battle Tendency.

-Rollinaround


End file.
